Barbie and the Three Musketeers 3
by keelykelly
Summary: This is the continuation of My Style, i hope you like it. All credit goes to where credit is due.
1. I've got thirty minutes

The battle was heated as Viveca, Aramina, and Renee stood back to back. Armed men were closing in on all sides.

"Anyone else wishing Corinne was here?" Viveca asked.

Renee shook her head "She'd be crazy to come now!"

All of the sudden, two hands grabbed two of the men by their shirt collars and swung them away.

"Corinne!" Aramina said in shock "What are you doing here?"

Corinne laughed, her blue eyes sparkling "We've been dealing with these guys for a year." She said, blocking a blow with her sword "Did you really think I'd miss out on the final battle?"

She cut a backflip over to Renee, who shook her head "Corinne! You are nine months pregnant!"

"Yep." Corinne said simply, spinning around in a complete circle to block some more swords.

"You are crazy!" Renee chuckled.

Even though Corinne was nine months pregnant, anyone would hardly notice. She could still wear the same pink dress she always wore. She cartwheeled over to help Viveca.

"That baby's going to get whiplash!" Viveca exclaimed as she tripped a guy with her ribbons.

"Not if she's anything like me." Corinne answered. She ducked as Viveca flicked the ribbons over her head and grabbed a sword from one of the men. She handed the sword to Corinne "I thought it was due today."

"She is." Corinne confirmed, kicking a guy away from her.

"Aren't you supposed to be at home?" Aramina asked, catching one her fans that she had sent flying.

"I'm not the only one here pregnant you know." Corinne mumbled.

"Yeah." Renee said "I'm six months, and Viveca's only three! Ours aren't due right now!"

"What time is it?" Corinne asked.

"Two-o-clock." Renee answered "Why?"

"She isn't due till two thirty." Corinne said "I've still got time. Let's finish this thing, girls!"

The others nodded, and then they charged. In fifteen minutes, all twelve men were laying on the ground unconscious.

Treville rode up with a group of musketeers and smiled "I see we're too late... again."

The girls laughed "Yes Sir."

"Well done girls." Treville nodded, then he spotted Corinne. "Your Majesty, aren't you supposed to be at home?"

Corinne nodded "Yeah. I've got an appointment in fifteen minutes, I'd better go." She walked over to her horse and mounted "See you girls tomorrow!"

No one noticed a lone figure standing in a grove of trees nearby watching and swearing revenge.

**When Corrine rode** up to the castle, Louis was waiting on the front steps.

"Where were you?" Louis asked.

"Helping my friends." Corinne answered as she dismounted "I left you a note."

Louis chuckled "You are amazing."

Corinne stepped over to where he was and kissed him on the cheek "Thank you."

Then she went in the door.

Louis watched her till the doors to the castle closed behind her. He wouldn't change her for anything.

After three hours, Louis walked out to town to try and find his three friends.

"Hey Louis!" Jonathan, Aramina's tall blond haired, blue eyed, husband, called.

Louis waved at him "Hi."

"What's up?"

Louis shrugged "It's that time."

"Ah." Jonathan nodded in understanding "I understand." He patted the head of his one year old son.

Louis smiled "Corinne's sure it's a girl."

"And what about you?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm not sure." Louis answered "I really don't care which it is. I'm wondering about the personality. I mean, look at the mother"

Jonathan laughed "Being married to a musketeer is interesting, isn't it?"

Louis nodded "It sure is. I was raised around girls that screamed if their finger nail got broken." He chuckled "I've known Corinne for five years now and she never ceases to amaze me."

Jonathan became quiet for a few seconds "Just beware Louis. There is trouble stirring up."

"What kind of trouble?"

"Gossip."

Louis groaned "That's the worst kind."

Hugh, Renee's tall, dark, black headed, husband, and Victor, Viveca's shaggy brown haired, blue eyed, husband, walked up just then.

"Hey, Louis. Hi Jonathan." Victor greeted.

"Did you hear about the girls' victory?" Hugh asked.

"They said Corinne showed up." Jonathan added.

Louis nodded, his brown eyes sparking with amusement "According to the note she left me, she had to be there when they defeated the gang."

Hugh shook his head "I'm just hoping there's not a mission when Renee's due. She'll probably do the same thing."

"Probably." The others agreed.

Louis pointed up to the castle "I better start heading back up there."

The others waved goodbye, then headed on their ways.

When Louis reached the castle, he sat down on the front steps. Five minutes later, the midwife swung the door open "It's a girl!"


	2. Trading Dreams

Two days later, Corinne bundled up the little girl and headed for Viveca's fashion shop in town. She knew her other friends would be there too.

She walked through the shop's door and immediately spotted her friends.

"Hey guys." She greeted.

Aramina flew over to her and looked down at the little bundle in her arms.

"Oh she's precious!" Aramina exclaimed "And she looks just like you!"

Corinne smiled down at the little girl. It was true.

"What's her name?" Renee asked.

Corinne blew some of her hair out of her face "Louis named her."

"What did he name her?" Viveca asked.

"Lorrain." Corinne answered.

"Lorrain?" The others repeated.

Corinne nodded "He wanted to name her after to both of us. Lorrain was the only name he could think of."

"You could have named her Clouis." Aramina joked.

They all laughed. Just then, Aramina's son, Andrew, came waddling over.

Aramina reached down and picked the red headed boy up "Look Andrew. A baby."

The little boy stared at the baby girl "Purty." He said with a toothy grin.

The girls laughed again.

"I think I see the future." Viveca sang.

"Oh please." Corinne laughed "They're just kids!"

"For now." Renee added.

Corinne gave each of her friends a hug before headed for the door "Louis thinks I'm still upstairs in the nursery. I've got to run."

"Bye Corrine." Aramina called "Thanks for showing up Lorrain!"

As Corinne made her way back towards the castle, making sure she didn't get spotted by any of the musketeers, she heard a group of old ladies talking. She was just going to ignore them when she heard Louis' name.

"I don't know how he stands it." One lady said "Poor King Louis is trying to run a kingdom while his wife, who is supposed to be helping him, is gallivanting all over the kingdom fighting!"

"What do you suppose she'll do now that she has a baby?" Another lady asked.

"Make the king babysit her probably." The first lady scoffed "I wouldn't put it past her!"

Corinne looked down at her daughter. Truth be told, she hadn't really thought about what she'd do if there was a mission. Guess she just figured on backpacking her.

"I think it's safe to say she's an unfit queen!" A third lady continued.

"Well, what do you expect, him marrying a mere farm girl." The second lady added.

Corinne took a deep breath, then walked straight towards the ladies.

"Good morning, ladies." She said cordially.

The ladies gasped, then curtsied.

"Your Majesty." The first lady said "We were just talking about how wonderful a job you're doing. Considering how new it still is to you."

Corinne felt like looking the lady in the eye and telling her she had heard every word they had said. But, instead she smiled "Thank you."

Then she continued towards the castle.

"There's no need to listen to those snickering crows, is there?" She said to Lorrain.

She was about to enter the throne room, but she heard someone talking and figured that Louis was having an important conversation.

"Everything is fine." Louis' angry voice met her ears.

"Your Majesty." A man said "We are sure you think so. But what about the kingdom?"

"What about it?"

"You can't run it alone forever."

Corinne gasped. Surely they weren't discussing the same thing the gossipers out in town were. And talking directly to Louis about it!

She pressed her ear to the door, willing the baby to remain silent.

"Listen to me." Louis said, his voice stern "Corinne is a fine queen. She protects the kingdom!"

"She's always away from the castle!"

"Not always."

The man started to speak again, but Louis silenced him "We will discuss this no further. Luckily for you, my wife slipped out of the castle earlier, so she has not heard any of this. But, if I discover that anyone has said anything to the Queen about what we have discussed here, they will be severely punished. Starting with you. "

When Corinne heard footsteps heading towards the door, she turned around and ran away from the door, never making a sound.

She heard the man close the door behind him as he left.

She waited five minutes, then tiptoed over to the door, opened it, then closed it again.

"Louis!" she called "Where are you?"

"In the throne room." He answered.

She walked into the room, acting as if nothing was wrong "I went to see my friends."

Louis nodded, taking the baby from her "Yeah. I watched you leave. You're quite the sneaky thing." He added with a wink.

Corinne smiled, then walked over to a window that overlooked the training grounds.

She stared at the musketeers who were practicing. She felt a lump rise up in her throat. She had to do something. There was no way she was going to let the people believe that their king had made a mistake. She glanced back at Louis who was contently playing with his daughter. She placed her hand on the window and looked out it once more. Then she closed the curtains and walked away from her dream… forever.


	3. MotherDaughter

Seven years passed, and Corinne had hung up her musketeer hat for good.

Despite her friend's pleading, she wouldn't change her mind. When they had demanded an explanation, she had simply said that since she was a mother now, she had duties to her family.

Lorrain was now seven years old. If anyone took one look at her, they immediately knew whose daughter she was.

Corinne's parent's stopped by regularly to visit.

"She's so much like you." Marie said "She's very active."

Corinne laughed "It keeps castle life interesting."

Lorrain ran over to D'artagnon "Grandpa! Tell me about the battle you fought last week again!"

D'artagnon chuckled "Well, I think the female musketeers are to thank for the victory… again."

Corinne felt a pang of jealousy and pain course through her. She missed being a musketeer. But she couldn't say it. She knew Louis would insist she go back to it if he knew.

Lorrain sat down on the floor, her red dress spreading out around her "Tell me! Please!"

So, as D'artagnon told the story, Corinne slipped from the room. She found Louis bent over his desk in the office, working over some papers.

"Hi." She said softly.

Louis looked up at her and smiled "Hi yourself. Come on in."

"Dad's telling Lorrain a story." Corinne said as she sat on the corner of the desk.

"She loves hearing those stories." Louis chuckled. Then he sat down his pen and leaned back into his chair "Why don't you ever tell her the stories of when you were a musketeer?"

"I don't want her to know." Corinne answered.

"Why not?"

"I just…" She shook her head "Never mind. I just think it's best to let it remain silent."

She looked up at the clock on the wall "The girls should be in any minute to clean. I'm going to go join them."

Louis nodded as he watched his wife leave the room. He sighed, and then leaned forward on his desk. He knew she missed being a musketeer. It was written all over her face. But what could he do about it? She was too stubborn to change her mind.

He picked his pen back up and resumed his paper work.

Corinne ran up the stairs to where they always assembled before they began their daily work.

"Hey girls." Corinne greeted.

Renee placed her hands on her hips "Don't tell me you're going to help with the chores again."

"She always does." Aramina said.

Corinne picked up a duster "How else am I to talk to my friends?"

"Well, for one thing you could… OW!"

Viveca had rammed her elbow into Renee's arm to stop her from talking.

Corinne pretended like she didn't realize where Renee's comment had been leading.

"How's Andrew?" she asked, to change the subject and break the tension.

"Oh, he's fine." Aramina answered "But, you know how eight year old boys are."

"What about Victoria?"

Viveca nodded "Fine and dandy. And she's got a knack with those ribbons!"

Corinne laughed "You've trained her well. What about Ruth?"

Renee smiled "She's as well as can be. And Lorrain?"

"Listening to stories." Corinne answered "She never gets tired of listening."

Renee looked down the long staircase in front of them.

"Remember you first day here, Corinne?" she asked "The chandelier."

Corinne chuckled and nodded "Yes. How I met the prince. Crazy chandelier."

"Those were the good days." Viveca said, placing a hand on Corinne's shoulder "We were the unstoppable team."

Corinne turned to face her three friends "We still are." She reached out and hugged them. Then they resumed her cleaning.

After they got done, Corinne headed for the stairs "I promised Lorrain that lunch would be served in the garden." When she reached the top step, she stopped and stared at the railing. Then she looked back at her friends "Not a word."

"Corinne!" Renee called "I wouldn't!"

But she was too late. Corinne was already sliding down the railing. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she slid out of control and hit the door to Louis' office.

"The floor got polished this morning." Renee finished.

Corinne laughed as she clung to the doorknob. She hadn't had a good laugh in years!

Viveca looked over at her other two friends and shrugged. Then she sat down on the railing a slid.

"No no no no no!" Corinne squealed as Viveca collided with her, knocking her off her feet and onto the floor.

Renee and Aramina smiled at each other. Then they both leapt onto the railing and slid down.

"No!" Viveca screamed. She jumped to her feet, but was knocked back down as the two girls hit her.

Now Corinne was on the bottom of the pileup. The three other girls joined in the laughter, as they just laid there on the floor.

"Mommy?" Lorrain's voice suddenly squealed.

Corinne sat up and looked at her daughter. She could only imagine what she looked like. Her blond hair had come loose from its bun and was hanging around her face, while the rest of the bun hung limp at the nap of her neck. Her light pink, ankle length dress was twisted and wrinkled, and one of her shoes was lying in the middle of the floor while the other one was still on her foot. Her crown had flown off her head when Viveca had collided with her, and was now hanging on the doorknob of Louis' office. Not to mention the other three girls were partially on top of her. Somehow, Viveca's brown hair managed to stay intact in the scuffle, but her dress was wrinkled. Aramina's hair was completely loose, and Renee's was dangling in a sagging ponytail. The other three girls sat up just as Louis opened his office door and peeked out. The crown that was hanging on the doorknob fell towards the floor. Louis snatched it a mere quarter of an inch from the floor, and then he looked up at the girls smiling broadly.

"Is everything alright out here?" he asked.

It had been awhile since the last time he had seen Corinne's hair and clothes in a mess. The sight of her now, sitting on the floor, laughing with her friends brought back so many good memories.

She used to come home with her friends from missions, laughing about how they had won. They would laugh as they discussed new strategies and talked about the past.

Aramina, Viveca, and Renee stood up, and then pulled Corinne to her feet.

"Everything's fine." Corinne assured him.

Louis nodded, his smile reaching his brown eyes "Glad to hear it."

"Mommy. Why were you on the floor?" Lorrain asked.

"I slipped." Corinne answered.

"Oh." The girl seemed to take that for an answer "After lunch, can I go play with Vicky and Ruth? And Andrew?"

"Of course." Corinne answered.

"YIPEE!" Lorrain squealed. Then she clamped her hand over her mouth. Then she slowly smoothed out her skirt and said quietly "I'm inside. Use my inside voice."

She stood still for a second, and then went running out the door "YIPEE!"

The girls laughed.

"She certainly is your daughter." Viveca said.

Corinne nodded "Indeed."

Later on that day, Corinne was walking towards her and Louis' bedroom, when she spotted her daughter looking out a window with her face pressed to the glass.

"What are you looking at, Lorrain?" Corinne asked, walking over to join her.

"The musketeers." The girl answered.

Corinne smiled "Why are you watching the musketeers?"

Lorrain shrugged "Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Do you…" Lorrain stopped, like she was trying to decide whether or not to say anything. She took a deep breath, and then plunged ahead "Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a musketeer?"

Corinne smiled sadly "No Lorrain. I can't say that I do wonder."

It was the truth, she didn't wonder. She knew. She watched with her daughter as the musketeers dueled beneath them. The sounds of swords clashing together could be heard through the window. To most people, the sound was a threat. But to Corinne, it was a happy sound. A sound that had so many good memories and marvelous adventures tied to them.

Corinne looked down at her daughter and smiled "Lorrain. Would you like to come with me for a while?"

Lorrain nodded "Where to?"

Corinne lowered herself till she was at eye level with the young girl "Have you ever seen the female musketeers training outside?" Lorrain shook her head "Would you like to find out where they train?"

Lorrain nodded excitedly, her white blond curls bouncing "Yes mommy! Please!"

Corinne took her hand and led her over to a wall "Now, one thing first. You must never tell anyone about this. Okay?"

Lorrain nodded, and then watched in amazement as her mother pushed a stone in on the wall. Then the wall moved back to reveal a long dark corridor.

The young princess clung to her mother's hand as they made their way through the passageways.

"Mommy, are we lost?"

"Lost?" Corinne asked with a laugh "One thing Lorrain. I never get lost." She then pushed on another wall that opened to reveal a large training room.

Lorrain's mouth dropped open at the sight of the female musketeers practicing.

"Corinne!" Viveca called when she spotted the duo "What brings you here?"

"I need to ask a favor." Corinne answered, walking to her friends.

"What is it?" Renee asked.

Corinne pointed to Lorrain "I need you to train her. Every girl needs to protect herself. Teach her to use the weapons as well as plain hand to hand combat." She looked around at the three faces that had been her faithful friends for so long "Will you do it?"

"Of course." Viveca said immediately "We'll train her with our children."

"Of course, ours are a bit further ahead." Renee said "But if she's anything like you, she won't have a problem catching up."

Corinne glanced over at her daughter to see her too entranced with the machinery to be listening to the adults talk.

"And one more thing." She said, still watching Lorrain explore "Don't tell her about me being… you know."

"Why not?" Viveca asked.

"I think it's better she doesn't know." Corinne answered. After her friends nodded reluctantly, Corinne called Lorrain over to her "The musketeers are going to train you."

As she spoke, she watched the girl's blue eyes light up "You are going to learn how to defend yourself. Okay?"

Lorrain nodded "Yes! Thank you Mommy!"

Corinne held up her finger "But… for me to allow you to train with the best musketeers in the kingdom." Her friends chuckled quietly at that "You have to promise me that you will always use the skills you acquire for good. And you will only use them if you need to."

Lorrain nodded again, practically jumping in her excitement.

"And…" Corinne smiled "Don't tell Daddy."

"Yes, Mommy!" Lorrain squealed "Yes yes yes!" she ran to Corinne and hugged her "Oh thank you Mommy! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Lorrain." Corinne said, hugging her daughter back.

Aramina put a hand to her chest and sighed "I love sweet moments."


	4. A glance into the past

As the years passed, Lorrain became an expert swordswoman.

Corinne watched her daughter improve and encouraged her on. All the while, never once revealing who she used to be.

Lorrain, now nineteen years old, sat down on the training room floor.

"That was a bit challenging." She sighed, pushing her blond hair out of her face.

Andrew sat down beside her and smiled "Just a little bit." He sat his sword down beside him "Not bad. For a princess."

"Why you!" Lorrain shoved him, knocking him over onto his side.

On the other side of the room, Viveca, Aramina, and Renee were watching the two.

"I think the prediction I made when they were babies is true." Viveca said "What do you think Corinne will say?"

"I think she'll think it's adorable." Aramina answered.

Renee sighed "I wish she'd come back. It's just not the same without her."

The other two nodded "Yes." Aramina said "But we have to respect her wishes."

"What do you think made her quit?" Viveca asked.

Renee shrugged "I don't know. I wish I did though."

Lorrain suddenly jumped to her feet "I forgot! Dinner!" she ran out of the room at top speed.

Andrew slouched back on the floor and stared after her. If only she wasn't a princess.

Lorrain ran into the dining room and skid to her chair.

Corinne looked up at her, biting back her smile.

Louis raised an eyebrow "Late for dinner, Lorrain? Again?"

"Sorry." The princess said quickly "I'll try to do better."

"I've heard that one." Louis chuckled "But, I'll accept that. What were you doing anyways?"

"Um…" Lorrain looked at her mother who winked "Practicing poise and balance."

Corinne almost choked on her food. She looked up at her daughter and swallowed a laugh, and the piece of chicken.

Lorrain bit her lip, and then picked up her fork.

Louis looked back and forth between his two girls. Both of their eyes were dancing like they knew some big secret. But neither blond said a word.

Louis smiled "I have to say that I have the two most beautiful girls around." He smiled at his wife, and then at his daughter "You look just like your mother."

"I know." Lorrain answered proudly.

Corinne smiled at her. They had a relationship that a lot of people missed out on. They were more than mother daughter. They were friends. Kindred spirits. Almost like she was with her three friends. But those are two different kinds of relationships, so it's not even fair to compare them.

The next morning, after breakfast, Lorrain excused herself.

Corinne nodded, and then watched as her daughter left the room. Louis stood up and extending his hand out to her. She accepted it, and then was caught off guard as Louis pulled her down the hall.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

Louis didn't say anything, just led her straight into the ballroom "Remember that night?"

Corinne nodded "I do."

Louis bowed "May I have the honor?"

Corinne laughed, then she straightened her face "Uh.. Sure." She said as she took his hand and he led her to the middle of the ballroom floor, only stopping long enough to put a record into the gramophone and play it.

From secret peek holes around the ballroom, Lorrain, Ruth, Victoria, Andrew, Aramina, Viveca, and Renee were watching the scene.

"What are they doing?" Lorrain asked.

Renee chuckled "Replaying your mother's first ball."

"It was so sweet." Aramina sighed.

"Isn't that the ceremonial sword dance?" Ruth asked.

"Yes." Viveca answered.

Lorrain turned her attention back to the couple dancing in the middle of the ballroom, now extremely curious "Did they know each other before the ball?"

"They'd had a few run ins." Aramina giggled "But they were captivated. Now remember, this was a masquerade."

The younger people nodded, then looked back into the ballroom.

"You look so familiar, do I know you?" Louis recited, with a smile on his face.

"Uh… no. Your Highness." Corinne responded, doing a better job at keeping her face straight than Louis was.

"Are you certain? Perhaps we met at another ball, in Vienna."

"This is my first ball."

"I see. Perhaps we met in the country."

"Definitely not."

"So tell me. What is your name?"

"Uh… Lady… Barbeque?"

Lorrain looked over at Renee "Lady Barbeque? Where did that come from?"

"It was a masquerade!" Renee answered "You don't want people to know who you are."

Viveca was staring into the ballroom "Here comes the best part!"

Lorrain looked back at her parents, and listened.

"So," her father was saying "You say the Barbeque family comes from Italy?"

"Uh, yes!" Corinne nodded "As do our cousins… the Pepperonis'!"

Lorrain sputtered as she tried to cover her laughter. Her three friends were making a failed attempt at it too.

Viveca looked at the four laughing teenagers "The best part about it though, is that he believed her."  
"He did?" Lorrain asked.

Aramina nodded "He was too entranced with her blue yes to pay any attention to what she was saying." Her green eyes were sparkling with amusement. She loved this sort of romance… or any sort really.

The couple in the ballroom started laughing.

"I can't believe you actually thought that I was related to The Pepperonis'!" Corinne laughed.

"I wasn't necessarily listening to you." Louis responded.

The doorbell rang just then. Louis and Corinne sighed. It always happened. A perfect moment ruined by the bell.

As the couple headed for the door, Lorrain smiled after them "They really are crazy."  
"Crazier than you know." Renee chuckled. No one had said anything about Louis' balloon, when he was first inventing it. They knew if they got on that subject, they would have to tell how Corinne saved him. Then about their fight. And then, the secret would be out.

"It's funny." Lorrain said "When I look at my mom, it's like looking in a reversed mirror. There's me, this crazy, active, sword welding princess. And then there's my mom. A cool, calm, collected queen."

As she glanced over at her three teachers, she watched them all look at each other. Each of their faces were sad, like they had just lost their best friend.

Andrew tapped Lorrain on the shoulder "I challenge you to a dual."


	5. They're Missing!

Corinne was standing in the throne room, looking out a window when, Aramina, Viveca, and Renee, came walking in.

"Good Morning, Your Highness." Viveca said.

Corinne spun around and stared at them in horror "Please don't start doing that to me!"

Viveca laughed "I was just teasing."

"How are you, Corinne?" Aramina asked.

"Fine." Corinne answered.

"But not great?" Renee smirked.

"What do y'all need?" Corinne asked smiling.

"Status report." Aramina chuckled "Lorrain is very good. Especially at the sword."

Corinne shook her head smiling "Like mother like daughter." She mumbled.

"And…" Aramina looked over at the other two "She has scored an attraction."

Corinne's eyes grew wide "With who?"

"Andrew."

Corinne's smile widened "Oh, really?"

Viveca nodded "They are so cute. I don't think they realize how attracted they are to each other."

Corinne nodded in approval "Well, I have nothing against it."

"Really?" Aramina's eyes were hopeful.

"How can I?" Corinne reached out and hugged her redheaded friend "He's your son."

Aramina sighed relieved as she returned the hug "We really do miss you Corinne."

Corinne released her friend and smiled "It's better this way."

"Do you miss it?" Viveca asked.

Corinne opened her mouth, then clamped it back shut "I miss all the times we spent together." She finally said "It's good to know you didn't turn on me when I deserted y'all."

"We would never." Renee insisted.

With a laugh, the four girls hugged.

Lorrain peeked around the corner and shook her head "You'd think they knew each other as best friends. Not just Queen and her musketeers."

Ruth shrugged "My mom said that they knew each other before your mom married the King."

"And?"

"She dropped off right there and changed the subject." Ruth shrugged again "That was years ago."

Victoria peeked around the corner too "I think it's sweet the way they're always laughing and hugging."

Lorrain yelped as a hand was suddenly placed on her shoulder.

Andrew ducked as she spun around "Hey. It's just me." He said in mock horror.

Lorrain looked down at him "Very funny, Andrew."

"Come on." Victoria said "We need to get to the training room before our parents do. Or they might guess we were spying on them."

That night, a masked figure crept through the hallways. He made his way to where the king and queen were sleeping soundly. When he reached the door, he pulled a small glass bottle out of his pocket, that contained a substance that made you fall asleep. Or stay asleep, for a long time.

He cracked the door open and threw it into the room. When the bottle hit the wooden floor, it shattered, sending the fumes into the air.

Corinne sat up with a gasp, which only resulted in her getting a lung full of the sleeping fume.

She covered her mouth and clambered out of the bed. But before she could make it to the window to open it, the sleeping fumes took effect, and she fell to the floor.

When Lorrain woke up the next morning, she instantly felt like something was wrong. There was an odd feeling in the air.

She got out of her bed, got dressed, and then headed downstairs for breakfast. Her parents didn't show up.

She was about to run for the musketeers, when Ruth and Victoria came crashing through the door.

"Lorrain!" Victoria cried, her brown hair flying around her face "My parents gone!"

"So are mine!" Ruth added.

"Mine are too." A calm voice said, stepping out of the wall. Andrew faced the girls "And all of the musketeers are asleep."

"Asleep?" Lorrain asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"Where's your parents?" Ruth asked. when Lorrain didn't answer, she gasped "Don't' tell me they're missing too!"

Lorrain nodded "I was about to run to your mother for help when y'all came in."

"What are we going to do?" Victoria asked.

"First, stay calm." Andrew said "Secondly. We're going to find a way to track down our parents."

"But how?" Lorrain asked.

"We were trained by the best musketeers in Paris!" Andrew answered "We can find them… If we work together."

Lorrain nodded "We can do this."

"We can do anything!" Victoria sang.

They went and investigated the musketeer grounds, and all of their houses. In each place, there was an odd smell that caused at least one of them to yawn.

"So, apparently," Ruth said as they headed for the King and Queen's bedroom "Someone created this strange perfume like stuff to make everyone fall asleep."

Lorrain nodded "Apparently."

She pushed the bedroom door open and walked in. she chuckled, despite the situation "I can't remember the last time I was in here."

Victoria walked towards a vanity table that was sitting in the corner. It had two jewelry boxes, and a few tiaras sitting on it "I'm going to check over here for clues."

Lorrain smiled. Victoria's passion. Accessories!

Ruth was looking around the floor "Hey, look. There's shattered glass on the floor right here!"

Andrew poked at it with the tip of his finger "Well, here's what the sleeping stuff _was_ in."

"But where are our parents now?" Lorrain asked, walking towards the closet. She swung open the doors and took a step back "Wow." She stared at all the many beautiful ball gowns "Mom never wears any of these." Then a much shorter, dark pink dress caught her attention. She reached in and pulled it out "I can't imagine my mother wearing this. She only wears the ankle length dresses."

Andrew looked over at the dress "Hey! That looks just like my mom's musketeer outfit. Only a different color. And a different style." He frowned as he continued to confuse himself "And the designs are different… okay. Looks nothing like it."

Lorrain laughed as she turned back to the closet. She spotted a skirt that looked a lot like the dress she was holding. She pulled it out and held it up to the shorter dress "Hey look! They match."

Andrew nodded "Yeah. My mom has an outfit just like that. Just… never mind."

Victoria rolled her eyes "Andrew, leave the fashion to the experts."

Andrew shrugged "It looks about your size." He said "Why don't you try it on?"

"No, no." Lorrain objected "Red's more my color."

"Go put it on." Ruth insisted "While trying to find our parents, we're probably going to run into trouble, and you're not going to be able to fight in that dress."

Lorrain looked down at her ankle length dress "What about my training dress?"

"Remember, I took it home so I could make you another one." Victoria said "IT's laying in pieces on my sewing table."

Lorrain sighed and looked down at the dress.

"Go on." Ruth pushed her towards the dressing room "And hurry! We don't have much time."

Victoria waited patiently for her to reappear, while Ruth dug through the closet further.

"Oh sweet!" Ruth exclaimed, backing out of the closet with a pair of knee high pink boots.

She slipped over to the dressing room door and handed Lorrain the boots "Put these on."

Two minutes later, Lorrain walked out in, what she didn't know was, her mother's full musketeer uniform.

"Wow." Andrew said as he stared at her.

"Yeah." Victoria nodded "Wow. I knew you looked like your mom. But now that you're in pink, I can really see it!"

Lorrain laughed "This dress is awesome! I feel like I can do anything in it!"

Renee placed her hands on her hips and nodded "That dress really is a lot like our mothers' dresses."

Lorrain cut a no handed front flip "This is incredible! I feel like a musketeer!" she straightened up, and then looked down at the skirt oddly "It feels like it has some extra weight on the left though."

She ran her hand along the side of the skirt, until her hand touched something hard. She looked at the spot. It looked like it was just one of the designs on the dress. She wrapped her hand around the hard thing and pulled. Her eyes widened as she looked at the golden sword that was now in her hand "What in the world?"

Suddenly, Monsieur Treville's voice drifted up through the window.

"Your Majesties!" he called "Are you alright?"

Lorrain ran over to the window "Mom and dad are missing!"

Treville stared at her, then he shook his head "What?"

"We're coming down!" Lorrain said, sliding the sword back to where she had gotten it from.

Ruth, who was still in the closet, spotted something blue in the back. She reached for it.

"Come on, Ruth!" Victoria said "We have to go!"

Ruth looked at the blue thing, and then she turned and left. Leaving the musketeer hat and cape hanging, untouched in the closet.


	6. Investigating

When the girls, and Andrew, reached Treville, the captain stared at Lorrain, and then chuckled "For a moment I thought you were your mother."

Lorrain smiled, then she became serious "Captain, my parents are missing. So are my friends' parents."

Treville nodded "We'll set out to find them immediately."

"We're coming with you." Lorrain said.

Treville shook his head "It's too dangerous."

"Mom had the musketeers train me." The princess said firmly "I'm very well capable of defending myself. And I'm going to help find my mother and father."

Treville stared at her, a hint of a smile on his face. Then he nodded "Alright." He patted her on the shoulder "You are so much like your mother." Then he walked away.

"What?" Lorrain stared after the captain confused "How am I like my mother?"

"Maybe he was talking about the looks." Victoria suggested.

Lorrain nodded "Yeah. I guess."

When Corinne woke up, she stared at the dark ceiling above her. Where was she? Where was Louis? What had happened?

She sat up slowly, willing the spinning in her head to stop.

She heard several groans, and watched as silhouetted figures sat up.

"Oi. My head." Viveca groaned.

"Mine too." Aramina replied.

"We have to find a way out of here." Renee said, standing to her feet "Who knows where Corinne and Louis are!"

"I'm right here." Corinne said, walking towards her friends. Her foot caught on something, and she lurched forward. But before she could hit the ground, two hands grabbed her.

"Easy." Louis said calmly.

Corinne sighed, stepping over the cause for her fall "Louis. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Louis answered "Are you? And what did you trip on?"

Viveca suddenly giggled "Victor."

Corinne looked down by her feet and gasped "Oops. Sorry Victor."

Victor chuckled wryly "No problem Your Highness. Glad to be of service."

Viveca swatted him on the back of the head and laughed "Cut the sarcasm Victor."

Hugh walked over to Renee "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes." Corinne answered.

Then, Aramina went running past her "Jonathan! Jonathan!" she ran around the whole room "Jonathan where are you!"

"I'm right here." Jonathan answered from the center of the room.

Aramina sighed with relief "Good."

Corinne looked around as her eyes became accustomed to the dim light "Lorrain's not here."

"Neither is Ruth." Renee said.

"Nor Victoria." Viveca added.

"Or Andrew." Aramina sighed "Where do you think they are?"

Louis shrugged "Let's just hope they're safe."

Corinne looked around again and huffed "Typical. On little window that isn't even a foot wide."

"You know." Renee said "We may have to fight our way out of here."

Viveca and Aramina nodded in agreement "It's the three of us together. We can do it." Viveca said.

"No." Corinne walked over to her three friends "It's the four of us."

"Really?" Aramina squealed.

"Really."

Louis, Hugh, Victor, and Jonathan smiled as the four girls hugged.

"Finally." Louis said under his breath.

Back at the castle, the girls, and Andrew, were tacking up their mother's horses.

Lorrain was silent as she placed the saddle on Wind Dancer's back. Wind Dancer was Corinne's white mare.

She led the horse from her stall to where the others were waiting "Did you guys ever get the feeling that your parents' were keeping a secret from you?"

Victoria nodded "Yeah. Sometimes."

"I hadn't really thought about it." Ruth said "But now, yeah. There has been sometimes where it seemed they were keeping a secret."

"Like when mom was telling me the story of how they became musketeers." Victoria said "She said how they fought and everything. And then, they ran into the passageways and found the musketeers. Then, they went up to the roof, and the battle was over." She shrugged "She never would say _how_ the battle ended."

Lorrain grabbed Wind Dancer's reins and pulled herself up "You know. When I was seven, I watched my mother slide down the stair railing in the great hall."

"No!" the other two girls gasped.

"Yes." Lorrain insisted "And then. Your mothers slid down after her. They were all laying in a heap on the floor laughing."

"That doesn't sound like something your mother would do." Andrew said, mounting up onto the bay mare. He looked down at the horse, then over at Ruth "Hey. Can I ride the stallion?"

"No way." Ruth jumped into the saddle of her mother's black stallion "I'm riding him!"

From her position on top of her mother's brown mare, Victoria laughed "Come on guys! Let's go!"

"Where?" Lorrain asked "We have no idea where to even start."

Victoria sat back in her saddle "Good point." She frowned in concentration a few minutes, and then she got an idea "Aha! Let's ride through town and ask the people if they've seen anything… odd."

"Good plan." Ruth nodded "I wonder if that's what mom would have done."

Lorrain shrugged "Who knows. Let's go!"

Then the girls, and Andrew, rode towards the town.

Corinne and the girls were searching for an exit on one end of the room, while the boys were searching the other end.

"Corinne." Viveca said slowly "Why did you quit?"

Corinne froze, and then she glanced back at Louis, who was too busy searching to be listening "I heard some people talking."

Renee crossed her arms "I know it wasn't just people talking that made you quit." She said "If you let stuff like that intimidate you, you wouldn't have become a musketeer to begin with."

Corinne sighed "No, it wasn't exactly that. I heard a group of ladies out in town talking. I decided to ignore them. But when I got to the castle, I heard a man talking to Louis." She rubbed her forehead "I didn't want Louis to start feeling like he'd made a mistake, because people kept complaining about his wife." She shrugged "So I quit."

"So, you didn't quit because you wanted to?" Aramina asked.

Corinne shook her head "No. I didn't want to quit. To tell you the truth, I had a hard time convincing myself that I had to."

Viveca held up her finger "Thought you had to." She smiled "But now, we're together again. We're a team!" she pointed at Corinne's long skirt "And you need a makeover."

Corinne shrugged and smiled "Have at it, Vivi."

Viveca dropped to her knees, and in one experienced move, ripped the bottom eight inches off Corinne's skirt. Then she pulled out her ESK (Emergency Sewing Kit) and hemmed up the skirt "Tada!"

The others shook their heads "How do you do that?"

"Practice." Viveca answered, putting her ESK back into her pocket.

Louis looked around the room "There's no way out. How are we going to escape?"

"My guess," Corinne said "Lorrain."

"What?" Louis took a step back in shock "How is she going to find us?"

"She's stubborn." Corinne answered "She won't give up. I don't think the person that brought us here kidnapped our children. My guess is that since Lorrain is the next heir to the throne, the person is either thinking marriage, or, it's a young impressionable girl. She'll sign the kingdom over no problem."

"They definitely don't know that girl." Renee chuckled "Or her mother."

"What about protection?" Louis asked.

Corinne smiled nervously at her friends, then turned back to Louis "I asked the girls to teach Lorrain how to fight."

"What!?"

"Every girl needs to know how to defend herself."

Louis pushed his brown hair back from his face "But alone?"

"No." Renee answered immediately "Our daughters are with her."

"I mean no offence when I say this." Louis said "But I don't like the thought of three girls traveling alone."

Corinne cleared her throat "Did I forget to mention… the boy?"

"The boy!?"

Aramina nodded "Yes. Andrew. My son."

Louis looked back and forth between Corinne and Aramina "And? What are you not telling me?"

"Well," Corinne scratched her head "There's a mild attraction."

"Mild?"

"For now."

Louis shook his head smiling "Corinne. When will you learn, I don't mind my daughter being like you."

"What do you mean?" Corinne asked.

"Learning to fight." Louis answered "A royal and musketeer relationship. None of that bothers me."

"Really?"

"Really."

Corinne ran over to Louis and threw her arms around his neck "Oh! You're wonderful!"

Louis chuckled "I know."

In town, the girls, and Andrew had been asking people if they had seen anything strange.

No one had. Their spirits were starting to get down, when an old man, leaning heavily on a cane, approached them. He was slouched over with a grizzly beard and steely brown eyes.

"I saw something strange that night." He said.

"What?" Lorrain asked.

The man shifted his weight around, like he was trying to decide whether or not to speak. Finally he began to talk "That night, I saw a queer man sneaking through town. About an hour later, I saw him again. Loading some unknown objects into a wagon. " he coughed before continuing "As the wagon passed me, I saw a hand hanging off the side. This fell from the hand." He held out a charm bracelet that had pink hearts and butterflies on it.

Lorrain gasped "That's my mom's!"

The old man handed it to her. The other three glanced at the bracelet "My mom has a bracelet like that!" they exclaimed.

"Which way was the wagon heading?" Andrew asked.

The old man pointed "Due west."

"Thank you!" they all called as they rode away.

The old man grinned wickedly and yanked the fake beard off. He stood up straight and dropped the cane "Perfect." He sneered "They're falling right into my trap."


	7. Final Battle

After the four had ridden for what seemed like an eternity, they stopped.

"I think we're lost." Victoria said, looking around.

An image of Corinne flashed through Lorrain's mind. And something her mother had said "I never get lost."

"What?" Ruth asked.

Lorrain looked around "I never get lost."

Victoria raised an eyebrow "Why are you saying that?"

"That's what my mother said." Lorrain answered "It's soothing, somehow."

"Well, it makes me feel better." Ruth said.

Andrew laughed "Alright. Since we're not lost, where are we?"

Lorrain smiled sheepishly "I wish I knew."

When they woke up the next morning, something was definitely wrong. They were all tied up!

Lorrain looked around and spotted Andrew tied to a different tree than she and the girls were.

"_He must have used that sleeping stuff."_ She thought _"That might explain why my head feels so funny."_

Andrew got her attention, and motioned to her left with his eyes. She slowly turned her head and saw a man, with a large sword, standing guard.

Another man walked towards them, his gaze was dark and threatening.

"Oh look." The man said "It's Minnie Mouse and the Three Musketeers."

Lorrain bit her lip as she felt her temper flare _"Stay calm." _She thought _"Don't blow your temper. Be calm like your mother."_

The man crouched down so he could look Lorrain in the eye "I have your parents." He looked around "All of your parents."

"Where are they?" Lorrain asked through gritted teeth.

The guy pointed towards the north, to a small building that was halfway buried underground.

"I'll release them under one condition." The man said.

"What?" Lorrain asked, her blue eyes shooting fire.

The man snapped his fingers, and immediately, a younger man walked forward.

"Marry my son, Howard, making him heir to the kingdom, and your parents will be saved."

Andrew's mouth dropped open. That jerk!

Lorrain glared "Never."

Howard scoffed "We'll see about that." He grabbed a bow and arrow from another man and shot it towards Andrew. The arrow landed within an inch from Andrew's right ear.

Lorrain gasped "Stop!"

Howard's father chuckled "Calm down boy. Let's give her some time to think."

Howard sighed and tossed the bow, and an arrow he had been getting ready to shoot, to the ground. Then he and his father walked away.

Ruth looked at the bow and arrow. She tried to reach them with her feet, but they were too far away.

Lorrain saw what she was doing, and attempted to knock the weapon towards her. The toe of her shoe caught the edge, and slid it a little. Victoria knocked it the best she could. Ruth kicked off her shoes and using her toes, grabbed the bow and arrow. Maneuvering her feet carefully, she fit the arrow into the bow and aimed it at Andrew.

Andrew's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened when he saw the arrow aimed at him. He was about to say something, but Ruth glared at him. Then she mouthed "If you want me hit you, go ahead and speak."

After ten long seconds, Ruth let the arrow fly.

Lorrain closed her eyes. She just couldn't watch! But the next thing she knew, she was being cut free.

The man that had been standing guard raised his sword and rushed towards the princess. She reached down and yanked out her sword, blocking the blow. She looked at the sword and smiled "That's convenient."

Andrew cut the other two free "Go get our parents!" he told them, running to help Lorrain.

Ruth and Victoria ran towards the little building. They found the entrance, which was wood on the outside, and forced the door open.

"Ruth! Victoria!" Corinne exclaimed "How did you find us?"

"Long story." Ruth answered "But right now, we need back up." She glanced back at where the fight going on. She saw a group of about twenty horses riding towards the fighters. And it was obvious they weren't there to help the good side.

Corinne and her friends followed Ruth's gaze. Corinne turned to the others "Let's go girls." The others nodded, and they ran to help.

Victoria and Ruth watched them go. They looked at each other confused and then shrugged.

"She is the queen." Victoria said "She is allowed to give orders." Then they followed to assist.

Lorrain's sword got yanked from her hand and thrown.

The guard smirked "So much for the big brave girl!"

He raised his sword and just as she thought she'd feel the blade slicing through her, a foot kicked the guy's hand.

Lorrain's eyes grew wide as she watched her mother cut a backflip. The man swung his sword at Corinne this time. She simply stepped out of the way, and then whacked his wrist, causing the man to drop his sword.

Corinne dropped into her musketeer pose, ready if he tried anything "Nobody messes with my daughter!"

The man turned around and ran away.

"Mom." Lorrain said in shock.

"Go help Andrew." Corrine said as three more guys came running towards them. Plus, she didn't feel like discussing it at that moment.

"But…"

"That's an order, Lorrain."

"Corinne!" Viveca called "Catch!" she threw a sword through the air towards her.

Lorrain watched as her mother grabbed it and immediately swung it into action.

Corinne's sword swung at lightning speed as the three opponents tried, without success, to take down the former musketeer "Oh come on!" she said with a smirk "Three against one? Hardly seems fair." Then she spun around and sent all three swords flying into a tree.

Lorrain's mouth dropped open "Mom…"

"Go help Andrew." Corinne said again, as she grabbed a second sword from the tree and began to fight with another guy.

This time, Lorrain obeyed. She ran over and helped Andrew with the two guys he was fighting. After they had them down, Lorrain wiped some sweat off her brow "Have you seen my mom? she asked.

Andrew looked over "You mean, that mom?" he asked.

Lorrain, Andrew, Ruth and Victoria, stared at their mothers. They were standing shoulder to shoulder, their weapons ready. As four guys ran towards them, Corrine and Renee swapped places. Viveca and Aramina ducked, while Corinne and Renee flipped over their backs and then handled the men in front of them.

Andrew cleared his throat "Well, your mom. She… uh…"

Lorrain shook her head "She's got a lot of explaining to do."

Just then Howard ran towards the young group, with a sword in his hand.

"I don't think so." Andrew met Howard halfway and their swords locked "Your battle is with me now."

Howard scoffed "Easy win."

Victoria pulled out her ribbons and joined her mother, while Ruth grabbed a bow and arrow and went to help Renee.

Lorrain ran over to her mother, holding her sword ready "Mom! I've got your back."

"I have no doubt." Corinne said with a smile.

Standing back to back like they were, it was hard to guess which was which. The only way you could really tell them apart, was Corinne looked a bit older than her daughter, and their dresses were different.

Lorrain glanced at Aramina, Viveca, and Renee. They were all smiling "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"We are fighting a serious battle." Lorrain knocked a guy's sword from his hand and then kicked him into a tree "Why are you smiling?"

Corinne laughed as she blocked the sword of another guy "Because, I love this!" then with a heave, she sent the guy flying.

"Hey, Corinne!" Viveca called, she was surrounded by a complete circle of men "How about a little help."

Corinne threw her sword at her. Viveca flicked her ribbons. They wrapped around the handle of the sword, and then she spun, sending the sword flying in a circle knocking all the other swords from the guys' hands. Victoria was crouched down on the ground, feeling a little uneasy about a sword lying over top of her head. After Viveca had knocked all the swords away from their opponents, she threw Corinne's sword back to her. Then she and Victoria, knocked the men either out or down with their ribbons.

Corinne caught her sword and looked around. All the men were down, except for Howard… and his father.

Corinne took one look at him and gasped "I know you! We thought we defeated you nineteen years ago!"

The man chuckled "Such a long time, wouldn't you say, Blondie?"

Corinne's temper flared "Who are you calling Blondie?"

The man backed up in shock "You. Duh."

Corinne looked over at her three friends "What do you say girls? Is he worth it?"

"Oh yeah." Renee answered.

Corinne grabbed a tree branch and swung herself behind the guy. Then the other three surrounded him.

"My victory ended with you." Corinne said "And now, it's going to begin with you."

All of the sudden, a sharp cry of pain caught all of their attentions. They spun around to see Andrew gripping his side as blood slipped through his fingers. He staggered, and then fell against a tree.

Lorrain gasped and ran towards Howard. Then at the exact same moment, moving like it was a mirror image, both Corinne and Lorrain's fists flew out. Lorrain's connected with Howard's jaw; Corrine's hit his father's. Both men stepped back dazed, and then fell to the ground unconscious.

Both ladies sighed "Glad that's out of my system."

Then Lorrain ran over to Andrew "Are you okay? Please speak to me!"

Andrew groaned as he gripped his side "It hurts."

"I should say it does." Renee mumbled as she looked at the wound. She looked up at Aramina "It doesn't look good."

Jonathan ran and jumped up onto one of the many horses standing around "I'm going to go get help!"

Aramina knelt down beside her son "It's okay Andrew. We're getting help."

Lorrain bit back a sob as tears streamed down her face. Andrew looked up at her and managed a weak smile. He slowly and with great difficulty lifted his hand to her face "I always have loved you." He whispered.

Lorrain placed her hand over his "Everything's going to be okay Andrew. You'll see." She said through her tears.

Andrew coughed "Don't wait for me." He said. Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"No Andrew." Lorrain sobbed as his hand slipped from her face and landed motionless on the ground.


	8. Musketeers!

Over the next few weeks, everyone's spirits were solemn and reserved. Especially Lorrain's.

One afternoon, Corinne found her in her bedroom looking out her window "Are you ready?"

Lorrain nodded "I never thought that I would become a musketeer." She said with a small chuckle, then she looked at her mom "And I never imagined that you used to be a musketeer. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, I didn't want to quit." Corinne answered "I guess I thought if the subject could be discussed whenever, I might change my mind and go back to it."

"And?"

Corinne laughed "And now, I'm a musketeer, about to deem my daughter a musketeer."

Lorrain sighed "I wish Andrew could be here."

Corinne smiled sadly and hugged her daughter "I do too." She pulled back and held Lorrain at arm's length "You better get ready for the ball."

Lorrain groaned "Why did Dad insist on throwing a ball to celebrate me and my friends becoming musketeers? And your return to being a musketeer."

Corinne shrugged "I have yet to understand your Father, and I doubt I ever will."

Lorrain laughed "I'll go get one of my gowns."

"Oh no." Corinne dragged the princess out of her room and down the hall into one of the extra bedrooms "Viveca made a new dress for you that looks just like mine. Only it's red instead of pink." She smiled mischievously "And… It's functional!"

As they laughed, Corinne pulled the dress out of the closet "Here we are."

"It's beautiful!" Lorrain exclaimed as she looked at the dress. It was a splitting image of her mother's dress from the layered skirt to the puffed sleeves. Only of course, it was red.

"Now get dressed." Corinne instructed "The ball starts in an hour."

"Thanks mom."

"For what?"

Lorrain smiled "Everything."

Corinne nodded "Your welcome." Then she closed the door behind her.

At the ball, Corinne was standing in the middle of the ballroom talking to her friends.

"I can't believe you really quit for so long!" Aramina gushed.

Corinne laughed "I know. Trust me, it wasn't easy."

"Well, the important thing is that you came to your senses." Renee said.

Lorrain entered the room and made a beeline for her two friends.

"Can you believe it?" Ruth asked "We're going to be musketeers. Like our moms!"

Lorrain nodded "I can't wait!"

An hour into the ball, Corinne and her three friends made their way towards the stage where the orchestra was while Louis went over to Lorrain.

"Lorrain." He said "You haven't danced at all."

Lorrain shrugged "I don't really feel like dancing."

Louis grabbed her hand "There's someone I want you to meet."

She didn't want to meet anyone, but she didn't want to hurt her dad either. He led her close to the middle of the ballroom and pointed.

Lorrain looked up and gasped. A dark red headed boy with midnight blue eyes stood before her.

"Andrew." She whispered. Then she ran to him "Your mother said you couldn't come tonight!"

Andrew smiled "I changed my mind." He looked up and raised an eyebrow "Are you aware that our highly talented mother can handle weapons, train kids, win battle, and now they can also sing?"

Lorrain looked up at the stage to where her mother was arguing with the conductor and smiled "No. I didn't know."

Corinne finally got what she wanted, and the orchestra began playing another song.

Andrew bowed "May I have the honor?"

Lorrain curtsied "Of course."

Then they started dancing as Corinne began to sing, with her friends as backup.

_**I know we've been friends forever**_

_**But now I think I'm feeling something totally new**_

_**And after all this time, I've opened up my eyes**_

_**Now I see**_

_**You were always with me.**_

_**Could it be you and I never imagined**_

_**(Could it be) Could it be suddenly I'm falling for you**_

_**(I am falling) Could it be you were right here beside me**_

_**And I never knew**_

_**Could it be that it's true that it's you (Could it be)**_

_**That it's you.**_

Lorrain smiled at Andrew and joined in on the second verse.

_**It's kind of funny you were always near**_

_**But who would ever thought that we would end up here **_

_**And every time I've needed you**_

_**You've been there for me through**_

_**Now it's clear**_

_**I've been waiting for you.**_

_**Could it be you and I never imagined**_

_**(Could it be) Could it be suddenly I'm falling for you**_

_**(I am falling) Could it be you were right here beside me**_

_**And I never knew**_

_**Could it be that it's true that it's you (Could it be)**_

_**Oooh! (That it's true) it's you (That it's you)**_

'_**Cause today is the start of the rest of our lives**_

_**I can see it in your eyes**_

_**Oh but it real and it true**_

_**And it's just being you**_

_**Could it be, that it's true**_

_**That it' s you**_

_**Could it be you and I never imagined**_

_**(Could it be) Could it be suddenly I'm falling for you**_

_**(I am falling) Could it be you were right here beside me**_

_**And I never knew**_

_**Could it be that it's true that it's you (Could it be)**_

_**That it's you.**_

(Thanks for reading! All the characters except for the ones I created belong to Mattel. And the song belongs to Disney. I hope you enjoyed it!)


	9. three months later

(Well, the story was over. But I've had quite a few people ask me to continue it. So, I am. I hope you enjoy.)

**It had been **three weeks since Lorrain and her friends were named musketeers.

Most people were surprised that the princess had become one, but when they were reminded of who her mother was, all surprise vanished.

The, now eight, musketeers were in the training room practicing. Six of them were standing off to the side, watching a dual that was taking place in the center of the room.

Now true, there's nothing new about a dual. But this dual was between Corinne and Lorrain. Queen and Princess. Mother and daughter. Well, you caught the drift.

Since Corinne hadn't used her fighting skills in nearly twenty years, she was a bit rusty.

But Lorrain still couldn't best her mother.

Viveca, Aramina, and Renee were cheering for their old friend, Corinne. While their children, Victoria, Andrew, and Ruth, were cheering for Lorrain.

After a series of flips and jump, the dualists were standing on the platform to a contraption that was in the room.

The same one the first musketeers had trained with. It had suits of armor that moved, and swinging beams.

Viveca smirked as she pulled out her long ribbons "Kids, it's time to end the dual." She flicked the ribbons out. When the ends wrapped around the lever that made the contraption turn on, she yanked it back.

The machine groaned as it started moving. The two girls on the contraption froze for a second as they realized everything around them coming to life.

Corinne laughed at the look of unbelief on her daughter's face "Thank you can handle it?"

Lorrain looked at Corinne and nodded "Of course. I'm your daughter."

"Ouch."

Then the dual continued. The two blond dodging the moving parts of the contraption, fighting the suits of armor, and trying to defeat the other blond.

Andrew chuckled as he watched them "This is quite entertaining."

Renee nodded, leaning again the wall "To think, we missed nineteen years of this."

"Speaking of which," Victoria said "How come y'all never told us that the queen was a musketeer?"

Viveca shrugged "Corinne told us not to."

"You know." Aramina added "She was actually the one that led us to becoming musketeers."

Renee nodded "We were all going to go home. But Corinne was stubborn. She knew the musketeers wouldn't be there to protect the prince, we had to."

"It took her all of three minutes to convince us to go." Viveca said with a laugh "She had a plan, and we went with it. And it worked."

"So, she was the one that finished the battle on the roof?" Ruth asked. When the other's nodded, she shrugged "Well, that explains so much."

The three older musketeers looked back to the dual.

"Uh-oh." Renee laughed "Corinne's decided it's time to end this thing."

"How do you know?" Ruth and Victoria asked in unison.

"Her face." Viveca answered "When she gets that smirk, she's about to end the dual with her on top."

Corinne suddenly jumped straight into the air. She landed on one of the swinging beams, then she flipped to one the was higher in the air. Then with a final flip. She was on top of the contraption.

Lorrain stared up at her "Mom! How did you…"

"Lorrain look out!" Corinne cringed as one of the beams knocked the back of her daughter's knees, sending her crashing to the floor.

Viveca immediately ran over and turned off the contraption.

Corinne jumped down from her position and offered Lorrain a hand up "Are you okay?"

Lorrain laughed "Yep. Just fine."

"That was the most interesting dual I've ever seen in my life!" Victoria exclaimed.

Corinne and Lorrain laughed as they smiled at each other.

"Um…" Renee suddenly said, pointing to a clock on the wall "I think y'all are running a little late."

The two blonds gasped "Oh-no. Dinner!"

They both stuck their swords into the hiding places among the ruffles of their skirts, and ran out the door. Grabbing their longer over skirts on the way out.

Everyone that was left in the room started laughing.

"Like mother like daughter." Aramina, VIveca and Renee said in unison.

Then, they resumed their training.

**Louis was sitting **at the dining room table, his chin resting on his hands when he heard the sound of feet running down the hall.

He smiled as he watched his two girls run into the room and slide into their chairs, both slightly breathless.

"Late for dinner, ladies?" Louis chuckled "Again?"

Corinne shook her head "Sorry, Louis. But we lost track of time."

"I noticed. Happens often."

'Same to you… Dear."

Lorrain was looking back and forth between her parents. She loved their little 'arguments'.

"I'm not normally late for dinner… Honey." Louis teased.

"Only when you're working on your flying contraption." Corinne rolled her eyes "And dinner's getting cold."

Louis laughed "Dinner is cold."

Lorrain smiled as she started eating. She loved the way her parents were alive when they were with each other. Even more now that Corinne had decided to be a musketeer again. She was SO much more happy and carefree.

Then her mind flipped to Andrew. She couldn't help but wonder if he meant what he had said when they all thought he was dying. He hadn't mentioned it since.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Do people say what they mean when they think they're dying?"

Corinne stared at her daughter for several seconds, then laughed slightly "You mean like when your father _finally _told me he loved me when he thought I might possibly be dead?"

Lorrain nodded "Yeah. I guess so."

Corinne looked over at Louis and smiled "Well, I suppose he meant it. We are married now."

Louis chuckled "Desperate situations cause for desperate measures." He placed his hand over Corinne's "Yes. I meant it."

Lorrain sighed as she continued to slowly eat her food.

Corinne smiled slightly as she watched her, then she looked over at Louis.

He caught the hint and left the room.

"Lorrain." Corinne said "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lorrain answered.

"I'm your mother. What's wrong?" she knew it wasn't lady like at all, but Corinne put her elbows on the table, and rested her chin on top of her hands "Is it Andrew?"

Lorrain looked up at her mother shocked "How did you know?"

"I was young and in love once." Corinne laughed "I know what it feels like. Trust me." She slowly stood up from her chair, Lorrain followed suit "Except, when I had first fallen in love with your father, he was the prince. I was just a maid that wanted to be the first female musketeer."

Lorrain listened very closely to her mother. This is a story she hadn't heard yet.

Corinne shook her head as she and Lorrain walked up the steps of the great hall "I was helping sweep the stairs, right there," she pointed to the spot "When he ran into me."

"He wasn't watching where he was going?" Lorrain asked, semi-smiling.

"Nope." Corinne smiled at the memory "He was too busy watching his mini hot air balloon. I think I may have fallen for him right there, but… I may never know."

"So, when do you think you fell for him?"

Corinne continued to tell the story as they walked up several flights of stairs. When they reached the top, they walked out onto the terrace bridge "And I guess it started from there. When that crazy balloon decided to jolt and knock us together."

"Wow." Lorrain leaned on the railing "No wonder you and dad are always out flying it."

Corinne laughed "Testing it. You know, it's been over twenty years and he still hasn't figured out how to land that thing."

The two blonds laughed as they looked down towards the ground where Louis was working on the hot air balloon.

"Now," Corinne turned to face her daughter "About Andrew."

Lorrain sighed "D… Do you think he meant what he said that day?"

"When he thought he was dying?"

"Yeah."

"He did."

"How do you know?"

"I've seen the face of a boy in love." Corinne answered, pointing down to Louis "A boy not sure how to tell his girl how he feels. Andrew's scared because you are a princess." She chuckled "Louis was scared because I was a musketeer and had a sword on me."

Lorrain laughed "He thought you would kill him?"

"Well, not quite. But he knew I had a temper, and it didn't take much to set it off."

As they headed back down the stairs, Lorrain couldn't help but ask "Mom. Why does everyone say I'm like you?"

Corinne raised an eyebrow "Think about it." She blew a strand of blond hair from her face "You're just as stubborn and hard headed as I am." She reached out and pushed in a brick on the wall "Don't worry about Andrew." She winked "He'll come around."

(Sorry if this chapter seemed like of drawn out and boring. I'm trying to get back into the swing of the story. Thanks for reading.)


	10. Breathless

Monsieur Treville ran into Louis' office "Do you know where the musketeers are?"

"No." Louis answered, standing from his desk "I think they're training."

Treville turned around and looked back out the room "I wish I knew where they trained!"

Louis nodded "You and me both. But none of them will tell."

"What's the problem?"

Louis and Treville spun around to see Corinne standing in the far corner.

Louis stared at her confused "How did you get there?"

Corinne shrugged "I've been here." then she looked at Treville "What did you need Captain?"

"I need to speak to the whole group of you." Treville answered, slightly smiling.

Corinne nodded "They're in the library."

Treville nodded "Thank you." He bowed to Louis, and then left the room.

Louis turned to tell Corinne something, but she was gone "How does she do that?" he shrugged "I guess she goes out the window."

**Corinne ran through **the passageways as fast as she could. She burst into the training room "Girls! Andrew! To the library! ASAP!"

They didn't ask questions, they just ran.

Corinne pushed open the secret door that was behind a bookshelf and they all ran out.

They all grabbed a random book and either plopped down on the floor or in a chair.

Corinne had just pushed the door back closed when Treville walked through the door.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw everyone, panting for breath while reading a book.

"Your Highness." Treville said, looking at Corinne "I'm amazed you got here so fast."

Corinne chuckled nervously "I guess I took a different route. What did you need Capain?"

"There's been a new threat to the royal family." Treville answered "I know It's nothing new, but it's serious."

Corinne placed her hand on her side, trying to calm down her breathing "What's happened?"

"One of the inn keepers in town said that one of their occupants were acting suspiciously," Treville said "So we went to investigate. The people were gone, but they left this." He handed Corinne a piece of paper.

She unfolded it and read it out loud "Now that you've reached Paris, you know what to do. I want the job done by the end of the month or else. Do the job right and you'll be greatly rewarded."

All the musketeers looked at each other.

Corinne folded up the letter "Yeah. Good luck with whatever you're planning."

Treville shook his head "Be on your guard at all times."

The others nodded and the Captain left the room. Corinne stuck the letter in her pocket and slid to the floor, still trying to catch her breath from running.

"Mom?" Lorrain said, looking at her mother "Are you okay?"

Corinne nodded "Oh yeah. Just too much running and talking at the same time."

Viveca, Aramina, and Renee looked down at her doubtfully.

Renee offered her a hand up "Since when?"

Corinne accepted it "Since I stupidly decided to skip out on training for nineteen years." She let out one last big puff of air before smiling "See? Good as new."

But the others still didn't quite believe her.

When they returned to the training room, Corinne and her friends sat on the side and watched their children train.

Aramina sighed "It's such a pity Andrew was a boy. It would have been fun teaching someone to use the fans."

Corinne smiled "But, if he had been a girl, _that _wouldn't have happened."

They all looked over to where Andrew and Lorrain were sword fighting together, both laughing as they did.

"What do you think of that paper?" Lorrain asked, ducking a blow.

Andrew shrugged "I don't know. It could be serious, or it might be nothing at all."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well," Andrew said as he parried an attack "It could just be someone here to get something that isn't sold where they're from."

Lorrain rolled her eyes "Yeah. Maybe a fashion designer came here to steal Viveca's designs!" then, with a final move, she sent Andrew's sword flying across the room.

With a small yelp, Corinne ducked as the sword struck the wall. She sat up and looked at the sword.

Lorrain laughed nervously "Sorry Mom."

Corinne yanked the sword out of the wall "Just glad I was paying attention." Then she tossed the sword back to Andrew.

"Is mom acting strange to you?" Lorrain whispered to her friends.

Victoria shrugged "She might be contemplating that letter."

"True." Lorrain shrugged and then glanced over at her mother. She wasn't sure, but as she watched, she thought she saw several shades of color drain from the Queen's face.


	11. A Necklace

The following morning, much to everyone's relief, Corinne seemed to be herself again.

"She actually scared me." Lorrain told Andrew as they were walking through the palace gardens.

Andrew nodded in understanding "I know. You should have heard Mom telling Dad. It went on for hours!" he looked down at her and cleared his throat "Um… Lorrain?"

"Yes Andrew?"

"I … um… just wanted to say…"

Lorrain stared at him _"Come on! Say it!" _

Andrew took a deep breath "I lo…"

"Lorrain!" Victoria called, running towards them.

Lorrain and Andrew both sighed.

"Yes, Victoria?" Lorrain said turning to her friend.

"You have got to see this dress I just designed!" Victoria answered, waving a piece of paper.

"_Seriously?!" _Lorrain thought, but kept her smile in check.

Victoria grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

Andrew let out a big huff of air "So close."

A hand was suddenly laid on his shoulder, causing him to jump. He looked back to see Louis standing right behind him.

"You know, Andrew." Louis said smiling "You've got more guts than I do."

Andrew raised an eyebrow curiously "How?"

Louis nodded towards the direction that Lorrain had gone "When I told her mother that I loved her, I thought she was unconscious and couldn't hear me." He chuckled "If I had known that she was awake, I'd have kept my mouth shut."

Andrew couldn't help the chuckle that came out "It's quite… terrifying."

"Yeah." Louis agreed, patting the younger man's back "But it's worth it."

Andrew smiled to himself "I'll bet it is." He suddenly cringed, remembering that Louis _was _still standing there.

Louis swallowed that laugh that threatened to come out at Andrew's embarrassment "Say, Andrew."

"Yes, Sir?"

"How would you like to go up in that balloon with me and Corinne sometime?"

Andrew's eyes grew "But my mom said that that was y'alls special place to get away from everything."

"It is." Louis confirmed "But I think you'd enjoy the view as much as we do."

Andrew finally nodded "I'd be honored."

"Good." Louis turned around and walked away, calling over his shoulder "Tomorrow, after lunch!"

**Lorrain, Ruth and **Victoria were riding through town doing the standard patrol, when Victoria suddenly squealed "Look at that!"

"What?" Lorrain and Ruth asked in unison.

"Necklace!" In two seconds flat, Victoria was off her horse and looking in a store window.

Lorrain shook her head "Victoria, we're on duty!"

"But it's so cute!" Victoria insisted "And, Lorrain, it matches your dress!"

Ruth rolled her eyes "Victoria! Let's go!"

"But Lorrain has to buy this necklace!" Victoria said, sticking out her bottom lip slightly.

Lorrain sighed and dismounted "Okay. Let's see this oh-must-have necklace."

Victoria pointed into the window at a necklace that had rubies that formed flowers, a large ruby between each of them. Then one more larger flower in the middle also made of rubies.

Ruth stepped up behind them and whistled "That's what I call a necklace."

Lorrain let out a big huff of air "Okay. Buy it."

Viveca squealed, ran in the door, snatched the necklace from the window display, and ten seconds later was snapping it around Lorrain's neck.

"Oi! Magnifique!"

Lorrain chuckled "_Now, _let's go."

**The next day **after lunch, Andrew walked around to the back of the castle where the king's balloon was waiting.

Louis was messing with some ropes and gears, making sure everything was ready. He glanced down at Andrew and smiled "Come on up."

Andrew climbed up the rope ladder and jumped into the basket, causing it to jolt "Whoa!"

Louis chuckled "Happens all the time. Don't believe me? Ask my wife."

"Where is she, anyways?"

"Probably running a little late… as usual."

Just then, who horses galloped around the corner and pulled to a halt beside the balloon.

"Oh." Louis said "Did I forget to mention that Lorrain was coming?"

Andrew shook his head "Yeah." He said, mildly sarcastic "I think you did."

Corinne walked over to the side of the balloon and jumped. Louis grabbed her hands and finished pulling her up into the basket.

Lorrain laughed and climbed up the rope ladder, also causing it to jolt when she jumped in.

"Are you sure this thing is safe?" Andrew asked, steadying himself.

"Safe?" Corinne teased "Now what fun would that be?"

Louis laughed as he released the balloon from the ground "Well, at least it hasn't killed anyone."

"Yet."

Andrew looked down at the ground nervously "That's what I was afraid of."

Corinne patted his shoulder "I was teasing. It's safe… right up until the landing."

Lorrain's eyes grew as Paris became smaller and smaller "This is… Amazing!"

Andrew had to agree "It is. I've never seen anything like it."

Corinne glanced back at the two kids who were standing on the other side of the balloon, then looked at Louis and smiled.

Louis waggled his eyebrows, then went to stand by his wife "What?"

"Nothing." Corinne answered, looking down at the city below them "I just can't get over it. It's so beautiful."

Louis looked at her, his brown eyes completely serious "So are you. And I haven't gotten over it yet, and I probably never will."

Lorrain turned her back on her parents and laughed softly "Who knew dad was such a romantic."

Andrew glanced back at the king and queen, then at Lorrain "You should hear some of the stuff my dad comes up with to say to my mom." He stuck out his tongue, scoring a laugh from the blond beside him "Talk about mushy!"

Lorrain shook her head amused "I take it you didn't inherit the romance from your parents."

"No." he turned his attention back to the ground below them "Ever wonder what our next adventure's going to be?"

Lorrain nodded "All the time. And I can't wait for it!"

Andrew put his hands on the edge of the basket, accidentally bumping her left hand in the process.

Lorrain's face heated up slightly, and she looked away from him, slightly moving her hand away.

Corinne giggled and looked up at Louis "This is going well."

Louis nodded "I'd say."

The balloon started sinking, and Corinne sighed "Let me guess. Low fuel?"

Louis checked the meter "Yep. We've got to start heading down."

Lorrain eyed the ground "Mom said you hadn't figured out how to land this thing."

Louis flashed her a smile "Well, there's always another try."

Andrew looked at the slowly approaching ground, then turned to the king "Mind if I try?"

Louis released the ropes he was holding and stepped out of the way "Won't make the tipping any harder."

Andrew smiled at Lorrain, then took control of the balloon.

"**It was beginner's **luck!" Louis insisted as they walked back towards the palace.

Corinne laughed "Oh Louis. Are we jealous?"

"No. I'm just saying."

Corinne looked back at the still upright balloon "He's good. Maybe he could teach you how to land."

Louis lunged for her, but she side stepped him then ran towards the castle, Louis right behind her.

Lorrain laughed as her parents disappeared from sight "They're still so much like kids."

Andrew nodded "They are quite entertaining to watch." He looked back at the balloon and smiled "Not bad."

Lorrain slightly elbowed him "You accomplished in one day what my dad couldn't do in twenty years!"

Andrew took her hand and nodded towards the castle "Come on. We'd better run."

When they stepped into the castle, they froze.

Corinne was standing in a musketeer pose, her sword drawn.

Louis was standing off to the side. A man had his arms pinned behind his back while holding a knife to his throat. There were three other men in the room.

"Andrew." Corinne said, not taking her eyes off the man holding her husband "Go get you mother and the others."

Andrew turned around and ran while Lorrain drew her sword and stepped up beside her mother.

"Oh. If it isn't the mother daughter team." His thick Russian accent made Corinne's eyebrows rise.

"Release him right now." Corinne said, keeping her voice even and low.

One thing that Lorrain had learned since she discovered her mother was a musketeer, was that she could put on a calm façade that hid an ever rising anger that would explode if not heeded.

The guy with the Russian accent sneered "No. You have something I want." He fixed his gaze on Lorrain and glared.

"If it's money you want. How much?" Corinne said "If it's the kingdom, forget it."

Aramina, Viveca, Renee, Victoria, Ruth, Andrew, Jonathan and Treville came bursting into the room just then.

The man took the knife away from Louis' throat and shoved him up against the wall.

"I'll be back." Then he, and his men were gone.

Corinne put her sword away and ran to Louis' side "Are you alright?"

Louis nodded "Yeah. What did he want?"

"I have no idea." Corinne answered "But I intend to find out."


	12. A Terrified Girl and a Missing King

"I have located the girl." The man with the thick Russian accent said.

A man sitting in a dark corner nodded "Are you sure it's her, Turner?"

"Yes. She has the necklace."

"Good. Bring her to me."

Turner cleared his throat "One problem, Gospodin Andrick Igorek. She's highly guarded."

"Then find a way to get her!"

"Yes, Sir."

"I want that girl! Bring her to me! Even if you have to kill her in the process!"

**Lorrain walked over **to her bedroom window. It was a beautiful morning.

She couldn't get over everything that had happened yesterday. First the balloon ride, then those people that were holding her father with a knife to his throat!

But the thing that scared her the most, was the fact that that man with the heavy Russian accent has looked at _her._

She walked over to her dresser and picked up the brush. She quickly brushed out her hair, then pulled it up into a ponytail.

She pulled her musketeer dress from the closet, put it on, then grabbed the ruby necklace from her jewelry box and quickly clasped it around her neck, then she went down for breakfast.

She was surprised when she saw Aramina, Viveca, Renee, their husbands and kids at the table too.

Corinne looked up at her and smiled "Don't look so surprised. Musketeers have to eat too."

Lorrain went and took her seat by her mother.

Breakfast was served, and eaten around chattering and laughing. Then, the men, excluding Andrew, went to Louis' office, and the girls, with Andrew, went to their training room.

"Do you think that guy will be back?" Lorrain asked, pulling a sword off of a wall.

Corinne shrugged "I don't know. He didn't say what it was he wanted."

"Here's what gets me." Renee said "Why did he have a deep Russian accent?"

Corinne tossed Renee a sling-shot "I don't know. But we're all going to have to be on our guard. Even when we're sleeping. There's no telling how dangerous this guy is. "

Ruth leaned over to Lorrain and whispered "You'd think your mom was the captain."

Renee looked back at her daughter, who jumped when she realized her mother had heard her "She is. She's _our_ leader."

Corinne's eyebrows rose "No I'm not! We don't have a leader! We're a team!"

Aramina laughed "Yes, but we follow you. You've always had that inner instinct about things."

"Besides." Viveca added "When you speak, people listen. Even before you married Louis. You just have a natural leader quality."

Corinne smiled and shook her head "Y'all are crazy."

"Nah." Renee said slightly nudging Lorrain "Your daughter has is too."

Corinne laughed slightly "Come on. We need to train. That's why we're here."

They trained till lunchtime, then they, excluding Corinne, headed out to town.

The mothers went down one street, and the kids went down another.

No one said a word as they rode down the street.

Victoria suddenly shivered "Does anyone get the creepy feeling that we're being watched?"

Lorrain nodded "Yeah."

"I thought it just might be me." Andrew added.

Lorrain shook her head "No. It's definitely not you." she looked around. Then she spotted something standing behind a tree.

She quietly dismounted from her horse and walked towards the tree.

She put her hand on her sword, just in case she needed it, then stepped around to face the person.

A girl with Red hair and brown eyes gasped and scurried out from behind the tree.

She appeared to be about sixteen. She was wearing a red tattered that probably had been beautiful at one time, but now was tattered and dirty.

Her eyes were wide with fear as she backed away from Lorrain.

"What's wrong?" Lorrain asked "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl just continued to back up until she bumped into Victoria who had also dismounted.

The girls squealed and leapt forwards. Her eyes started to show panic as she looked around at the four musketeers.

"Hey." Lorrain said softly "You're okay. We're safe I promise."

The girl stared at them for an eternity, then sighed "Do as you wish."

"What?" Ruth said confused "What we wish is that you chill."

"Ruth!" Victoria gasped "She's scared!"

"Obviously!"

Lorrain looked from her friends to the girl who was standing defeated between them.

"Who are you?"

"Ekaterina." The girl answered.

"Huh?" Ruth said confused.

"It's Russian for Katherine." Lorrain and Ekaterina said in unison.

"Okay." Roth shook her head "What are you running from?"

"Nothing." Katherine answered "I… just…" then she took a deep breath and fell to the ground unconscious.

Lorrain gasped and knelt down beside her "Katherine?" she quickly searched for a pulse and was alarmed to find that it was weak "We need to get her back to the castle."

Andrew nodded and picked the girl up and waited till Lorrain was in her saddle, before handing her up.

"She's got to be starving." Lorrain said, situating the girl in front of her "She doesn't way hardly anything!"

The others had just gotten back into the saddle, when one of the castle maids came running around the corner "Princess!" she called "Princess!"

"Betty?" Lorrain watched as the maid stopped right beside her "What's wrong?"

"Your mother told me to get you. Now!" Betty answered "She said it's an emergency! She sent Penny after the others."

Lorrain nodded "Get up behind, Victoria." She turned her horse back towards the palace "Let's go!"

They rode up into the castle yard, and Andrew took Katherine from Lorrain before they hurried into the palace.

Corinne came running around the corner, her face worried "You're father's missing."

**(A/N: I'd like to thank Popalot (who by the way has written some AWSOME stories. If you like mine, you'll like hers 1000 times better, so please go read them!), Katien100, JustBelieve786 and you guests for reviewing on my story. It means a lot. **

**I'm sure the name Gospodin****Andrick ****Igorek, probably confused some of you.**

**Gospodin is Mr. or Sir, in Russian. ****Andrick and ****Igorek or two Russian names I pulled off google. **

**Thanks again for reading!)**


	13. You Can't Be Serious!

"Dad's gone?" Lorrain repeated.

Corinne nodded "I've looked everywhere! Then I went to his office. It's a wreck!"

Lorrain groaned "What do we do?"

"We have to find him." Corinne said "There's no telling what they want him for!" then she spotted the girl in Andrew's arms "Who's that?"

"Katherine." Lorrain answered "We ran into her out in town. she was terrified! Then she fainted, so we brought her here."

Corinne nodded "Okay. Betty, take her upstairs."

The maid nodded and led Andrew away.

"I think she might somehow be connected to the men that were here yesterday." Lorrain said as Andrew disappeared from sight.

Corrine raised an eyebrow "How so?"

"She has a very thick Russian accent, and she's scared."

"Very scared." Victoria added.

"And starving." Ruth said.

Corinne nodded "Well, we'll just have to wait until she wakes up to get the whole story." She blew a strand of hair from her face "But, until then…"

She was interrupted as Aramina, Viveca and Renee ran into the room "What's wrong?" they asking in unison.

"Louis' gone. His office is a mess, and…" Corinne dug into her pocket and handed a piece of paper to her friends.

Aramina quickly unfolded the paper and read it out loud "Give up peacefully or I will take it by force and your dear king will suffer. Meet me tonight by the old Handler's shack, eleven o' clock. Don't be late."

Corinne groaned with frustration "What is it he want's?! He keeps demanding it, but he apparently thinks we know!"

Lorrain shook her head "I don't know. But we have to rescue dad!"

Aramina nodded "We'll all go tonight. I'll bring Jonathan too, since he _is _a musketeer. And since we don't know what we're up against."

Corinne looked out the nearby window "He'd better watch it, or he's going to get a hit he wasn't looking for!"

**At 10:45 the **group arrived at the shack. It's broken down, rotted look just added to the creepy feeling.

The nine musketeers dismounted from their horses and looked around.

Fifteen minutes later, Corinne broke the silence "We're here! Come out!"

They immediately heard heavy footsteps walking towards them.

Turner, the large man from earlier came into the clearing, pushing Louis in front of him, Five men standing behind him.

He looked at the group of musketeers and smiled "I'm glad to see you brought it."

Corinne's eyebrows raised and she looked at her friends. What on earth was he talking about?

Turner shoved Louis towards the group, causing Louis to stumble and fall.

Corinne ran to his side and helped him to his feet.

Turner's eyebrows lowered "Now hand it over." He growled threateningly.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Corinne snapped "What is it you want?"

Turner's eyebrows furrowed till his eyes were small slits "I'm not prone to playing silly games." He pulled out his sword and looked at Lorrain "Give up, Girl!"

All the musketeers pulled out their weapons.

"Look." Corinne said, her temper was really starting to flare "I'm not a mind reader! So if you expect anything, you're going to have to say it!"

Turner's glare on Lorrain hardened "So, she didn't tell you." he started walking forwards "Then we'll just have to see that she does."

Andrew and Corinne stepped between Turner and Lorrain at the same time.

"Sorry, but she's not an option!" Corinne snapped.

Turner growled in rage and charged at the queen. Corinne met him with her own sword, and the battle started.

The men that were with Turner drew their swords and joined the fight.

Louis ran out of the way since he was unarmed.

For the next twenty minutes, the air was filled with the sound of the Russian men and the musketeers fighting.

Corinne's battle was solely with Turner, who turned out to be a worthy component.

Their swords suddenly locked. Turner gritted his teeth as he tried to push Corinne away, but her heels were dug into the ground.

Corinne's face was set in determination as she kept her footing. But all of the sudden, a wave of exhaustion swept through her and the world started spinning.

Lorrain looked over in just enough time to see her mother stumble backwards, trip and fell, her sword flying away from her.

Turner laughed "Serves you right for getting in my way!" he raised his sword high above his.

"No!" Lorrain screamed. With a fierce kick, she sent the man she was fighting with flying into a tree. Then she ran between her mom and the sword.

The two blades clashed together with a deafening crash, and sparks flew into the air.

With a vicious shove, Lorrain pushed Turner away from her mother "Dad!" she called "Get mom out of here!"

Corinne jumped to her feet and grabbed her sword "No. I'm fine."

"No you're not!" Lorrain said, her sword flying at lightning speed as it blocked all of Turner's moves "Get out of here, Mom! NOW!"

Corinne knew from the tone of her daughters voice that there would be no use arguing.

Louis grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

Fifteen minutes later, Turner waved to him men "Let's go!" just before he and him men disappeared, he looked back at Lorrain "We'll be back!"

As soon as they were gone, Lorrain sank to her knees, panting heavily. Her hair had long since fallen out of its bun and was now hanging around her shoulders.

Andrew walked over to her "Are you okay?"

She nodded "Yes." He extended a hand down to her and she accepted it "Come on. I want to make sure mom's okay."

When they arrived at the castle, Louis was pacing outside his and Corinne's bedroom.

"Is everything okay?" Viveca asked.

"I don't know." Louis answered "The doctor's in there."

"The doctor?" Lorrain repeated.

Louis nodded "I called one. Naturally, I had to fight your mother to get her to see her." He chuckled "But I finally convinced her… barely."

"How long have they been in there?" Aramina asked.

"Five minutes."

For the next ten minutes, nobody spoke. Lorrain was leaning against the wall playing with her sword, when a sharp gasp was suddenly heard from the room "You can't be serious!" Corinne exclaimed.

Louis' face paled slightly. What was wrong.

"I'm serious." The doctor answered, her voice slightly amused "Would you like me to tell them?"

"No." Corinne answered immediately "I'll tell them."

Lorrain and Louis looked at each other concerned.

The doctor walked out of the room, mumbling something about why girls weren't supposed to be musketeers and Corinne being the most stubborn woman she'd ever met. She halted surprised when she saw Louis and the seven musketeers staring at her anxiously. She smiled reassuringly "She's fine."

Louis let out a large huff of air "We can see her, right?"

Corinne stepped out the door "How about I see you?" she shook her head and looked at the doctor, who just laughed and walked away.

Corinne rolled her eyes and led the others to the throne room.

"Corinne." Renee said as soon as they were in the room "What's going on?"

"It's…" Corinne turned to face the others "I'm… Pregnant."

"What!?" Everyone in the room exclaimed.

"So am I!" Viveca said.

"Me too!" Aramina added.

"Dito!" Renee said.

This time, it was the children's turn to be surprised "What!?" they all exclaimed.

Corinne laughed "Is that why the doctor kept cracking up? This is what happened last time!"

Louis shook his head "Wait! How is it that we're just now hearing about this?" he pointed to Viveca "I know Victor can't keep a secret worth anything."

Viveca chuckled nervously "I thought if I told, he would get all worried and try to keep me from the missions."

"Same here." Aramina said.

"Yep." Renee agreed.

Victoria couldn't help it anymore. She burst out laughing. It wasn't long before everyone joined.

"What's going on?" A voice asked from the doorway.

Hugh, Jonathan and Victor were staring at the people in the room.

"What's up?" Jonathan asked.

Corinne and her friends looked at each other, a mischievous smile on their faces.

Victor took an uncertain step backwards "Uh-oh."


	14. Do svidanya, Princess

"Oh come on!" Viveca exclaimed, slouching back in her seat and crossing her arms.

"No!" Victor said "You are _not _going to go traipsing all over creation, looking for a man who is dangerous!"

"And that goes for you too, Aramina Treville." Jonathan said.

Aramina looked over at Corinne who was sitting on her throne with her arms crossed, staring at the ceiling.

"I think that goes for all of you." Hugh said, sending a pointed look to Renee, who was standing with her hands behind her back looking innocent. But what the boys couldn't see, was Renee was mimicking them with her hands, which were hidden behind her back.

Louis nodded in agreement "I agree with the guys. Let the other musketeers handle this."

Corinne snorted "Ever wonder what would have happened if we'd let the musketeers handle our first mission? You know, the one where they were all tied up, and _we _were the only ones there."

Louis rolled his eyes "Yes, but you weren't pregnant then!"

"So what!?" Corinne jumped to her feet "I promise we'll be careful!"

Louis grunted "Yeah. Sure. Remember where you were twenty minutes before Lorrain was due?"

Lorrain, and the others were leaning against the wall listening with great interest and amusement.

"Where was she twenty minutes before I was due?" Lorrain asked.

"Fighting a serious battle!" Louis Answered.

"But I came back just fine! And so did Lorrain!" Corinne retorted.

Andrew chuckled as the other female musketeers got into the conversation "This is interesting."

"No kidding!" Ruth said "I never knew my dad could be so stubborn!"

"Who do you think will win?" Victoria asked "The moms or the dads."

The four looked at each other "Moms." They said in unison.

"No!" Victor shouted "I will not let you! And neither will Louis!" he looked over at the king for confirmation, which he was given immediately.

Corinne placed her hands on her hips and faced her husband "King Louis Francois Xavier Charles Auguste Ferdinand Alencon Of France, please!" her arms dropped her side in defeat and she just stared at him.

"Wow." Lorrain mouthed "What a name."

Louis stared at his wife for a long moment her blue eyes pleading. The one thing that had always been his downfall… the blue eyes. And unfortunately, his daughter had them too. He tried to look away, but everywhere he looked was another pitiful face looking at them. He finally sighed "Fine. You can keep at the mission."

"Yes!" The four musketeers squealed, running together in a group hug.

Victoria shook her head "And the mother's win again."

Victor walked over to Louis "Dude! You let us down!"

Louis shook his head "You try to say no when you have seven pitiful faces staring at you."

"Seven?" Hugh asked.

Louis pointed to the girls that were standing against the wall "They were helping."

Ruth leaned over to her friends and whispered "Let's get out of here!"`

The four kids turned and ran from the room, leaving their parents laughing behind them.

**The next morning**, Lorrain went up to the room that Katherine was in. The girl was still unconscious.

Corinne stepped into the room behind her daughter "How's it going?"

Lorrain shrugged "She's still out of it. I was hoping she'd be awake so we could talk." She walked over to the bedside "You don't suppose those men are after her, do you?"

Corinne shook her head "I thought they might be, but last night when we met them, they thought we had what they wanted. And she was here."

"True." Lorrain sat down "If only she could tell us."

"She will when she wakes up." Corinne answered, walking towards the door "But right now, she's still regaining her strength."

"But why are they here?" Lorrain asked "It's nearly sixteen-hundred miles between here and Russia."

Corinne shrugged "I don't know, Lorrain. But we'll find out. We just have to be patient and be on our guard."

Lorrain nodded, then smiled "How did you become so patient? My patience runs thin."

Corinne peeked out the door to make sure no one was around, then whispered "You learn patience when you get married. Trust me, you need it."

Lorrain laughed as her mother disappeared. Then she looked down at Katherine "You're safe here." she whispered "I promise." She stood up and walked over to a window.

She was wondering if she should tell her mom that that man kept staring at her whenever he showed up. But she didn't know if she was just being paranoid, and she didn't want to worry her mother if she was.

She sighed as she leaned against the window sill, she could see her father and Andrew working on Louis' balloon together.

She smiled at how well they got along.

If only Andrew would ask. She'd be twenty in a couple of days, maybe then… maybe not.

Her hand found the necklace that was around her neck and she subconsciously fingered it. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

"**Did you get **her?" Igorek asked.

"No sir." Turner answered "It appears she's a harder case than we thought."

"WHAT!?" Igorek shouted "How hard can it be to grab a princess!?"

Turner groaned "She carries a sword, Sir."

"I don't care if she's a musketeer! Get her!"

Turner bowed "Yes, Sir." Then he left the room.

Igorek picked up a picture of Paris and then lit a match and put the flame to the picture "I have found where you are hiding, and I'll have you before too long." He watched as the rest of the picture became engulfed in flames "Do svidanya, Princess."

**After dinner, Lorrain, **went out to the garden for some fresh air. She walked over to a large oak tree that had a wooden swing hanging from it and sat down.

"Hi."

She looked up to see Andrew walking towards her.

"Hi." She said.

He leaned against the tree and looked up at the sky "It's a nice night."

"It is." She looked at him casually leaning against the tree, holding his musketeer hat in his hand "I saw you with my dad earlier. And progress on that machine?"

Andrew chuckled "I told him that the weight needed to be more evenly spaced between the sides, and that coming down straight would also help."

Lorrain laughed "Since when were you a scientist?"

Andrew shrugged "I don't know."

The stars up ahead were starting to grow brighter as the sky got darker.

"_Come on, Andrew!" _he thought _"Now's the perfect time! Just tell her!" _He took a deep breath "Lorrain?"

She looked up at him "Yes?"

Andrew cleared his throat. "I wanted to tell you something." He was stalling..

"Yes, Andrew?" Her eyes widened hopefully and she bit her bottom lip.

"I lo…"

"Andrew!" Jonathan's voice wafted out through the air "Let's go!"

Andrew sighed "See you tomorrow, Lorrain."

Lorrain jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm "Wait! Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?"

He swallowed hard, then smiled "Um… Good night." Then he basically ran for the castle.

Lorrain shook her head "Will he ever say it?"

She sat back down on the swing and listened to the gentle breeze rustling through the tree tops.

A think hand suddenly went over her mouth while another wrapped around her waist and pulled her off the swing.

"Stay quiet." The threatening, Russian voice of Turner warned "Or you might meet your fate early."

Lorrain's arms were pinned to her side. She tried to grab her sword, but it was no use. In one final effort, she bit the man's hand.

"Ow!" Turner screamed in pain, pulling his hand away from the Princess's mouth.

"Mom!" Lorrain shouted at the top of her lungs "Help!" Turner's hand came down hard on the top of her head, and she went limp in his arms.

Corinne ran out of the castle, her sword drawn "Lorrain?" she called, looking around anxiously "Lorrain!"

But it was no use. She was gone.


	15. The Wrong Princess

**(A/N: I thought it cruel to leave y'all hanging for too long. So here's the next chapter. ENJOY!)**

Corinne was standing by the front door, telling her friends good bye.

"Well, as soon as Andrew gets here, we'll be gone." Aramina said cheerfully.

Corinne nodded "I'll see y'all tomorrow."

Andrew jogged around the corner and stopped by his dad "I'm here."

"See ya later Louis." Victor said with a wave.

Louis nodded "Bye."

Viveca held out her arms and the other three stepped into a group hug.

Corinne's head suddenly snapped up and she caught her breath.

"Corinne?" Ruth said quietly "What's wr…"

"Oh no." Corinne said, spinning around and taking off for the back of the castle "Lorrain!"

Everyone else in the room looked at each other, then took off after her, Louis and Andrew leading.

Corinne was standing in the middle of the garden, her sword hanging limply in her hand.

Louis stepped up behind his wife and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"They've got Lorrain." Corinne said through gritted teeth "If they hurt one hair on her head, they're going to be sorry."

"We'll find her." Victoria said, her voice full of concern "We all will."

"We have to." Andrew whispered under his breath.

**Lorrain groaned as **her eyes opened. The pounding in the top of her head made sitting up hard… not to mention the fact that her hands and feet were tied, and that she was gagged.

She squinted trying to get her eyes to adjust to the dim light. There was on candle lit on the other side of the room, illuminating a wooden table with a group of men sitting around it.

"Igorek will be here soon." Turner said, looking over at Lorrain and noticing her awake. He got up and walked over to her "Well, Princess. You're awake."

Lorrain glared at him. She would have said something, but her mouth was gagged, so even trying was pointless.

"Gospodin Andrick Igorek will be here soon. I suggest you cooperate."

Lorrain just stared at him. Whoever this Igorek was, he had better watch it. The temper she had inherited from her mother was really starting to build up.

Just then, a thumping sound was heard outside the cabin.

"That's him." Turner said, then he removed Lorrain's gag and went to open the door.

Igorek stepped in the door, and Lorrain gasped. He was at _least _six foot six inches. He was built like a bulldog. He had a black eye patch over his left eye and a long, ugly scar stretching from his right eyebrow down to his chin. He had one wooden leg. All in all, he was terrifying!

Igorek looked around the room and spotted Lorrain, a smirk crossed his face. He walked over to her and bent down the best he could "Well well well." He said in his think Russian accent "Looks like Turner finally got the job done."

Lorrain's eyebrows furrowed "What do you want?"

"Your inheritance." Igorek answered "Your kingdom."

"Forget it!" Lorrain snapped. She brought her knees up quickly, catching the man under his chin, causing him to back up, then she swung her feet around and kicked his feet out from under him, resulting him in landing on the floor with a crash.

Igorek growled as Turner and his men helped him to his feet "You're going to pay for that!"

"Just try it!" Lorrain challenged, even though she knew it was a bad idea, considering she was tied up "Try anything and you'll wish that you…" she stopped when she realized that they were staring at her confused. After several seconds, she realized that in the middle of her spewing she has swapped to speaking French instead of English. She took a deep breath, then very slowly said in English "You will not get my kingdom or anything else."

Igorek shook his head to clear it, then crossed his arms "You will sign it over to me. Теперь!"

Lorrain cringed slightly at how loud his Russian "NOW!" had been, but she quickly recovered and met his gaze with a glare "Even if I wanted to give it to you, what makes you think that I can?" Lorrain asked.

"You're the only living heir to the throne." Igorek answered.

Lorrain's eyes widened, then her eyebrows lowered "Qu'est-ce que vous y faire Ma famille?"

"**But what would **they want with Lorrain?" Ruth asked exasperated.

"I don't know." Corinne answered "And there's only one person I can think of to ask."

"Who?" Louis asked as Corinne started walking up the stairs.

"Katherine."

The group quietly went into the girls room and watched as Corinne began to gently shake her shoulders "Katherine." She said quietly, but urgently "Wake up. Please."

The girl groaned, then her eyes fluttered open. When she saw Corinne she gasped and squealed slightly.

"Hey. It's okay." Corinne soothed "I'm not going to hurt you. None of us are."

Katherine looked around the room, her eyes wide. After several silent minutes, she relaxed "Where am I?" she asked.

"Paris." Corinne answered "Why are you here?"

"I was running." Katherine answered "Running for my life, from a man named Gospodin Andrick Igorek."

"Why?"

"I am the last heir to the Russian throne, and they want it." Katherine worked her way into a sitting position "My parents kept me hidden for most of my life, but when Igorek showed up, they told me to run, and they ran an opposite direction, hoping Igorek and his man Turner would follow them instead of me."

Aramina stepped forward "So you're the Russian Princess?"

"Yes." Katherine nodded.

Now Corinne was more confused than she was to begin with "But why would they take Lorrain? Kidnapping the _French _princess won't help them get the Russian throne."

"Lorrain?" Katherine said slowly "Is she the girl that I ran into out in town?"

"Yep!" Victoria piped up "That's her!"

"And she's been kidnapped?" Katherine's eyes were growing wide with apprehension.

Corinne nodded "Yes. We were hoping you might know why."

Katherine closed her eyes and shook her head "They must have thought she was me."

"But why?" Renee asked "Y'all don't look anything alike! She's a blond! You're red. And that's just the beginning!"

The Russian princess looked at the group in the room "Igorek never saw me. He identified me by a necklace that my mother gave. A necklace made of ruby flowers."

Victoria gasped "Oh no."

"When I figured out that that was how he was planning on identifying me, I took it off and threw it away."

Victoria whimpered slightly "Someone found it, put it in a store, and then I made Lorrain buy it!"

Corinne closed her eyes, trying desperately to keep her panic at bay.

"So," Ruth said "They kidnapped our best friend, thinking she was the Russian heir, to try to force her to give them the throne, right?"

Katherine nodded "Yes."

Victor let out a low whistle "It's not going to be long before they realize they've got the wrong princess."

Louis nodded in agreement, his face clouded with worry "When Lorrain gets mad, she starts speaking in rampant French."

"I'm afraid I don't know much French." Katherine said "Hardly any, actually."

"Katherine," Corinne said very slowly "What will they do when they find out that Lorrain is not you?"

Katherine stared at the queen for a long moment, before she answered, her voice just above a whisper "They'll kill her"

**(A/N: Hi! Just so everyone knows, '**Qu'est-ce que vous y faire Ma famille,' is "What did you do to my Family." If it's wrong, Blame Google! Not me! I hope you enjoyed!**)**


	16. On the Bridge of Disaster

The room was deathly silent as Katherine's last words hung in the air.

"_They'll kill her." _Corinne thought, over and over _"They'll kill her."_ she looked up to see Louis staring at her _"They'll kill her? Not on my watch." _She took up and walked towards the door "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Aramina asked.

"To get my daughter." Corinne answered "Because there is no way anyone is going to lay a hand on my child and get away with it."

Andrew jumped to his feet "Wait for me!"

"Hey! We're coming too!" Ruth and Victoria called, running after them.

Aramina, Viveca and Renee followed suit.

Louis looked over at Jonathan, then the two men ran from the room "Wait!"

Corinne crossed her arms and faced the king "Where do you think you are going?"

"To get _our _daughter, with you."

"Nuh-uh." Corinne walked out the front door "It's too dangerous."

"It's no more dangerous for me than it is for you." Louis answered.

Corinne sighed "I don't have time to argue. Let's go."

"Where do we look?" Renee asked after they were all saddled and ready to go.

"They could be anywhere in Paris!" Victoria said.

Corinne stared into the distance for a long moment, then a thought struck her "I know where they are." She turned her horse in the direction of the woods "Come on!"

**Meanwhile, Igorek had **discovered that his men had gotten the wrong girl.

"You buffoons!" he growled "This isn't the Russian Princess! This is the French Princess!"

Turner nodded "Yes, Sir."

Igorek's face turned five different shades of red before he turned purple "Vy idioty!" he grabbed Turner by his shirt collar "Why did you get the Frantsuzskiy printsessa!?"

"My ne znatʹ!" Turner cried "We didn't know!"

"What do you mean, My ne znatʹ?" Igorek mimicked "You just said you did!"

"We thought you wanted the Frantsuzskiy printsessa." Turner answered, his face losing all color.

Igorek shoved Turner away and went to stand by the door "The French princess does not help me get control of Russia!"

Turner scrambled back to his feet "You just said the princess with the, Rubinovyy ozherelʹye!"

Lorrain's eyebrows furrowed "Ruby necklace." She repeated to herself. She looked down at the necklace hanging from her neck. Then it all made since. They thought she was the one they were after because of the necklace. They didn't know that she had bought it. Which meant that the real princess had to be… Katherine!

Igorek shook his head in disgust "Well, I have no use for her." he pulled a pistol from his belt and aimed it at Lorrain "Do svidaniya, printsessa iz Frantsiya."

Lorrain's eyes widened in fear. She couldn't dodge the bullet, and she was still tied.

Everything moved slowly as Igorek's finger began to pull the trigger. But, before he managed to get it pulled, the door to the shack was suddenly kicked open with such force that it sent Igorek sprawling on the floor.

"Mom!" Lorrain gasped in surprise and relief.

Corinne stepped in the door, swinging her sword casually "Sorry if we're a little late. The party invitation said nine. Not eight thirty."

Lorrain laughed as Ruth ran over and untied her "You're just in time."

Corinne pointed her sword at Turner "Thanks to you."

"What do you mean?" Turner snapped.

"If you hadn't told us to meet you here when you kidnapped my husband, I never would have known where to look."

Igorek growled in rage "You idiots!" then he shoved Corinne to the side and ran out the door.

"Girls!" Corinne called, jumping back to her feet "He's coming!"

Victoria, Ruth and Lorrain quickly tied up Turner and his men. They were more than happy to be arrested and taken away from the infuriated Igorek. Then they ran after the their parents to help in the battle.

Lorrain caught up with her mother "For a man with a peg-leg, he sure can run!"

Corinne huffed "Tell me about it! Makes me glad he's got the peg-leg!"

Igorek stopped running when he reached a ledge that looked down into a deep gully. A rotten rope bridge stretching across it. Then he turned and smiled at his pursuers "Turner and his goons weren't my only men." He then let out a loud high pitched whistle and immediately, fifteen fully armed men stormed into the clearing.

Igorek laughed as his men and the musketeers fought "Y'all are terribly outnumbered!"

"Oh. What fun would it be if we were equal?" Corinne retorted, causing Igorek to stop laughing.

After twenty minutes, when they had nearly all the men down, Andrew charged Igorek.

Lorrain glanced over and gasped "Andrew! Be careful!"

"Lorrain!" Corinne snapped "Keep your eyes on your opponent!"

Lorrain turned her attention back to the man she was fighting in just enough time to avert a fatal blow.

When the last of the men were finally down, they turned to see how Andrew was doing with Igorek.

Louis stared at the scene, then hit Jonathan's arm "Come on." Then he turned and ran off, Jonathan right behind him.

"It's over, Igorek!" Corinne said "Give up now, and we might go a little easy on you. _Might._"

"Nikogda!" Igorek shouted. Then in a mad rage, he grabbed Andrew's arm and sent him tumbling across the rotten bridge.

"Andrew!" Lorrain cried running forward.

Aramina's temper flared "You tried to hurt my son!"

The others stepped back in shock. Aramina was the calm, all forgiving one… but not when it came to her friends and family. It took her all of five minutes to have Igorek unconscious laying on the ground.

Corinne looked around, her heart leapt into her throat when she spotted her daughter.

Lorrain was slowly making her way across the bridge to where Andrew was hanging off the side, having no success on climbing back up.

Corinne put a hand over her mouth the keep herself from calling Lorrain back.

Everything became deathly silent. Even the birds stopped singing as the princess walked across the bridge. The only noise was the sound of the rope fibers slowly giving beneath hers and Andrew's weight.

Andrew spotted Lorrain heading his way and groaned "Lorrain. Go back!"

"No." she said "Not without you." she sank down to her knees, grabbed his hands and pulled.

Aramina was gripping Corinne's arm as Andrew was slowly pulled back up onto the bridge. The groan of the rotten rope and boards grew louder.

Lorrain bit her lip as she felt the rope fibers starting to give. She looked up at Andrew "We need to get off this thing, stat."

Andrew nodded "You first."

Lorrain slowly stood to her feet, for the first time noticing how high in the air they were.

"Don't look down." Andrew instructed.

Lorrain looked straight ahead and took one, small, careful step. The bridge groaned beneath her. She looked back at Andrew, then looked straight ahead at her mom.

Lorrain took one more step, and the rotten fibers began to break. Then with one final snap, the bridge gave way, sending Lorrain and Andrew plummeting down!

**(Mwahahaha! Evil, right? Anyhoo… I'm sure y'all noticed a lot of Russian sentences in this chapter, so I thought I'd better give y'all a glossary of sorts, for those. Like me, who don't understand Russian. Once again, if they're wrong, blame google!**

Vy idioty – You Idiots… Frantsuzskiy printsessa – French Princess… My ne znatʹ - We didn't know… Rubinovyy ozherelʹye – Ruby Necklace… Do svidaniya, printsessa iz Frantsiya – Good bye Princess of France… Nikogda – Never. **I hope you have enjoyed my story. Happy Readings everyone!)**


	17. The End

Andrew watched as Lorrain slowly stood to her feet, the bridge shaking with every move. Lorrain took a deep breath, then looked down into the fog filled gully.

"Don't look down!" Andrew said, then she turned her attention straight ahead.

Andrew stayed as still as possible, but he could feel the rotten ropes starting to snap.

"_As long as Lorrain gets off here before it snaps." _He thought _"I don't care what happens to me, as long as she's safe."_

His mother's face had gone completely pale as everyone watched the couple on the bridge.

Lorrain took one more step, and the bridge gave a loud groan, then a snap and the bridge gave away, sending them falling into the fog filled abyss.

Andrew caught his breath as he was suddenly jolted to a stop. He looked up to see Lorrain hanging onto a rope from the bridge and his hand.

Corinne was finally able to move. She ran to the edge and looked down to where her daughter and Andrew were hanging "Lorrain!" She called "Hold on!"

Renee grabbed Corinne's shoulders "There's no way to get them. They're too far away to reach."

"But we have to try!"

"But it's impossible." Viveca said quietly.

Victoria and Ruth looked at each other helplessly.

A sob escaped out of Corinne's throat as she looked back towards the canyon. Her only daughter, and Aramina's son were hanging a hundred feet below them from a rotten rope, two thousand feet above ground.

Lorrain took a deep breath "Andrew?" she said weakly.

The boy looked up at her, his face worried. He could see the strain on her face from trying to keep both of them from falling "Lorrain. This rope isn't going to hold both of us."

"Yes it will." Lorrain said, even though she could feel the rope fibers giving "We just have to hold on!"

"No. It won't!"

"It has to!"

Andrew looked down then back at her "Let me go."

"No!" Lorrain exclaimed "Never!"

"Lorrain! You have to!"

"No!"

Andrew had already let go of her hand, But Lorrain's grip on his wrist never loosened.

"Lorrain! Please!" Andrew begged.

"No! I'm not letting you go!" Tears were now streaming down the Princess's face.

"You have to! If you let me go, then there's a possibility that the rope will hold till you get help!"

Lorrain looked down at him, tears were falling from his eyes too. Her grip on his hand tightened "If you fall, then I'm going with you!"

"Lorrain, I love you. And I can't let you die because of me!"

The princess's eyes widened, then she shook her head "Andrew. I've loved you for as long as I can remember and I'd rather die with you than to live without you!"

The two watched as the rope snapped, and they disappeared into the dense fog.

"No!" Aramina screamed, then she couldn't take it anymore, she fainted.

Corinne caught her friend before she hit the ground, but she wasn't sure she was going to be able to hold up much longer either. She sank to her knees, lowering Aramina carefully with her.

Several musketeers came riding up, ropes hanging from their saddles "Are we too late?" one asked.

Corinne didn't answer. She couldn't. She covered her face with her hands as Viveca and Renee slid comforting arms around her shoulders.

"Lorrain." The queen whispered under her breath "Why?"

Viveca bit her lip. No one could think of what to say. But what do you say to a mother who's just lost her daughter?

The only sound that filled the air was Corinne's sobs and her friends trying to comfort her.

Renee looked around "Where is Louis?" she whispered under her breath.

Victoria was standing beside Ruth, feeling hopeless and depleted. Two of their best friends and comrades were gone. There had been no time to say good bye, or even a warning. They were just… gone. She looked towards the canyon, tears trailing down her face. Then, something odd caught her attention. The fog was raising out of the canyon, almost like it was being pushed. She tapped Ruth's shoulder and pointed.

Ruth looked up and gasped. "Look!"

Corinne looked up, along with everyone else. Their eyes grew wide as something large and round game into view.

"Is that?" Corinne said slowly, then she gasped "It's Louis' balloon!"

"And look!" Viveca squealed "Look who's on top!"

Standing on top of the balloon was Andrew with his arm wrapped securely around Lorrain, making sure she didn't fall.

"Aramina." Corinne said, shaking her friend "Aramina! They're alive!"

Aramina groaned and opened her eyes "What?"

Corinne shook her harder "Lorrain and Andrew! They're alive!"

When the top of the balloon reached ground level, Andrew and Lorrain jumped off and ran to their mothers.

Aramina nearly strangled Andrew as she hugged him "Oh! My son is safe! Safe!" then she smothered him in kisses.

Corinne hugged her daughter tightly "Lorrain." She whispered, tears of joy now flowing down her face.

"Mom." Lorrain sighed with relief. She looked over at Andrew, where he was still caught in his mother's embrace and saw him smiling at her.

When the basket of the balloon finally reached where Louis, Jonathan, Hugh, and Victor could get out, the four men jumped from the basket and Louis anchored it to the ground.

"Daddy!" Lorrain cried happily, running to her father.

Louis hugged her happily "My baby girl."

Jonathan went and rescued Andrew from his mother.

Corinne walked over to Louis "How…?"

He kissed her before she could finish her question "I don't know why I did it." He said, holding her at arms-length "But I'm glad I did." He then hugged her tightly.

Lorrain smiled at her parents, then turned to find Andrew staring at her.

Victoria slipped over behind Lorrain and gave her a shove forward.

Andrew leapt forward and helped her regain her balance.

She took a deep breath and looked up into his midnight blue eyes. He smiled slightly, then did what they both had only dreamed of for so long… he kissed her.

Corinne chuckled as she leaned into Louis "Beautiful."

Louis wrapped his arm securely around her "Yep." Then he smiled "You are."

Aramina sighed "I love Paris."

**A year and **half later, Lorrain was standing in her room looking in a full length mirror.

Corinne stepped into the room and smiled "Well. I guess I was right. My wedding dress fits you perfectly."

Lorrain nodded "How does Viveca do it?" she turned in yet another circle "And it's functional too."

"Always." Corinne laughed, then she looked around "And, yes, while I was coming here to see you, I seem to have misplaced your brother. Have you seen him?"

Lorrain nodded and pointed to a corner "Little Louis' over there."

The one year old prince was sitting in the corner playing with Lorrain's tiara.

Corinne laughed and retrieved her son "I declare, he's got a bigger sense of adventure than any boy I've ever met."

When Lorrain's eyebrows rose, Corinne shook her head "I said boy, not girl."

Lorrain nodded, the turned back to her reflection and took a deep breath.

Corinne sat Little Louis down on the floor and walked over to her daughter "Are you ready?"

Lorrain nodded "I think so." She took a deep breath "I am."

"Good. The wedding day's the bad time to get cold feet." Corinne placed the tiara on her daughter's head "Just remember, no matter where you go or what you do, you will always be my little Princess."

Lorrain turned around and hugged her mother "I wouldn't want to be anything else."

**Andrew buttoned the **last button on his suit jacket "I never was partial to getting dressed up."

Jonathan laughed "Who is? Especially when you end up looking like a white nutcracker."

Aramina shook her head "You men. You just don't appreciate the opportunity to get dressed up once in a while."

"Corinne doesn't either." Jonathan retorted.

Viveca, who was in the room to make sure no buttons popped off or anything, rolled her eyes "Corinne doesn't count. Besides, she gets dressed up when she needs to." She walked over to Andrew and walked three full circles around him, nodding at her handy work approvingly "Oh, yes. It is functional."

Jonathan cocked his head "How is a suit functional?"

Andrew laughed "The jacket can come off!" then he looked at Viveca to see her glaring at him "Or not."

Viveca rolled her eyes "Wedding starts in ten. I need to go make sure everything's good with Lorrain." Then she scurried away.

One of Andrew's musketeer friends, James stepped into the room, looking uncomfortable in his suit "Which girl do I escort?" he asked.

"Victoria." Andrew answered.

James smiled "Sweet!"

Andrew chuckled "I guess you don't mind that suit now, huh?"

James cleared his throat and smoothed back his black hair "Just doing what I must." Then he walked from the room whistling.

"Come on, Andrew." Jonathan said "It's time to go."

**Everything fell silent **as it came near time for the bride to make an appearance.

The orchestra began to play the wedding march and the large double doors swung open.

Victoria and Ruth stepped out and began to walk down the aisle, Corinne and Lorrain five steps behind them.

The smile on Andrew's face widened as his bride came into sight.

Louis sighed "She looks just like what her mother did." He whispered.

Andrew chuckled slightly "I can only imagine."

When the procession finally reached the front, Corinne took Lorrain's hand and put it in Andrew's "Take care of her." she whispered.

Andrew nodded "I will. I promise."

Corinne smiled, then, instead of going to stand off to the side like they had rehearsed, went and stood by Louis, who was doing the ceremony. They went through the 'I dos'

Louis smiled brightly "You may now…"

"Musketeers!" A musketeer came storming into the room "We have an emergency!"

Corinne groaned "Well, tell them to take a number!"

"But it's important!" The musketeer insisted.

Corinne sighed "Fine! What is it?"

The musketeer suddenly smiled "The King's only daughter is getting married!"

A small laugh rippled through the crown as Corinne pursed her lips and turned to face her husband "Louis." She said slowly "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

Louis glanced around and plastered a smile "No. Of course not."

Andrew chuckled "Think we can finish the ceremony now?" he turned back to Lorrain, and waited expectantly.

Louis took Corinne's hand and smiled "You may now kiss the bride."

Andrew consented happily as the crowd began to cheer.

"I present to you, Andrew and Lorrain Treville! Prince and Princess of France and future heirs to the throne!" Louis then stepped closer to the couple and whispered "I suggest you run before they get to their, rice, corn and rose petals."

The couple laughed then ran up the aisle together and out the door.

Corinne, Louis and all the others stepped outside and watched as Andrew pulled Lorrain up onto the back of his horse.

Lorrain looked back at her mother and waved "Good bye!" then Andrew slapped the reins and the horse ran off.

Everyone waved till they were out of sight.

Corinne sighed and leaned into Louis "Perfect ending, wouldn't you say?"

Louis nodded "Yes, I would." He then smiled mischievously "So, how many grandchildren do you suppose we'll have?"

Corinne looked up at Louis and scowled "Louis, they just go married!"

Louis laughed "Alright." He kissed the top of her head "definitely perfect."

**(A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for your reviews! I hope you enjoyed my story!)**


	18. Epilogue

"What'd you name her?" Corinne asked, lifting the small child from the cradle.

"Chloe." Lorrain answered, then she pointed to the other cradle "And he's Connor."

Corinne laughed, looked over at Louis and held out her hand "I told you it was twins. Pay up."

Louis rolled his eyes and dropped several coins into his wife's hand, then he looked over at Andrew "Don't ever make a bet with your wife, she'll win."

Andrew looked at Lorrain and Corinne confused "Didn't she go with you to the doctor?"

Corinne whistled softly as she slowly exited the room, carrying Chloe with her.

Lorrain laughed "That's mom for you."


End file.
